Concequences of Being Trapped in Small Spaces
by mae-E
Summary: long after two ex's both have grown-up and moved on with life, an unexpected meeting in an unexpected place turns into quite an unusual experiance. set before dt started but after the island exploded. if that makes any sense...
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I co-wrote this with falcon4crane. She is awesome! And it is only with her help that this story has come to fruition. This is the first of a three or four chapter story. I hope you all enjoy. _

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing so don't bug me! The only thing that is mine is the song.

**Consequences of Being Trapped in small spaces**

_A P.R. fan fic_.

_**Tuesday 9:45 am**_

_**The Woodruff Building**_

_**San Francisco, California**_

"I'm late. I'm late, for a very important date." Kim sang as she dialed the phone while rushing toward the building. It was a sunny Tuesday morning as Kim rushed through the lobby of the Woodruff building. Only seconds ago had her car pulled into the parking lot on two wheels so she was a little out of breath. She was talking to one of her closest friends on her cell phone as she rushed towards the elevators at the back of the lobby. Why had they placed the elevators at the back of the lobby? Really they could have helped her out by having them closer to the front. There was plenty of room to the side for a bank of elevators that would take her up to her dream. She couldn't be late today of all days.

"You would not believe how horridly snarled the traffic is in this city girl. I thought it was bad in our little part of California, but that was nothing compared to here. I've got fifteen minutes to get to the 64th floor and to Ms. Glacier's office." She said trying to catch her breath as she spotted an open elevator.

_"Don't worry Kim you got plenty of time. You're already in the building, only an act of divine intervention is going to keep you out of that music studio. Trust me on this,"_ said Aisha with her usual upbeat tone. It was one of the reasons that she had called Aisha. She knew how to soothe Kim's nerves better than anyone else.

"I guess I'm just nervous. I mean after all the hard work over the past couple of years on my music, to be discovered by the co-founder of Fire and Ice records while performing in a small coffee shop last Sunday, it was like something out of the movies. Stuff like that doesn't normally happen in real life, so I just don't want to make a bad impression, or seem ungrateful by showing up late for my first meeting," Said Kim as she neared the open elevator only to have it close before she got there. Was the universe conspiring against her?

_"Take a deep breath and relax girl!"_ Aisha said with a laugh. _"If you could survive having to change careers after your accident, which you recovered from amazingly well, you can do this no sweat. For as long as I have known you, anything you put your mind to you have achieved. This should be no different."_ She stated in her most reassuring tone.

"Thanks for the pep talk I so needed it! Let me call you back afterwards, my cell phone is notoriously bad at getting any kind of service in elevators." Kim said as glanced at the closed elevators doors. She was really thinking about hiking up the stairs but she knew that she really would be out of breath then if she had to walk up 64 flights of stairs for the meeting.

_"No problem girl. Anytime you need support you got it from me. I'll talk to you later Kim." _With that being said Aisha hung up the phone, not knowing it be the last time that day that she would hear from Kim.

Kim hung up her phone as she pressed the elevator call button and prayed for one to magically open in the next five seconds. She then dropped her phone into her messenger bag- sized purse. She looked up as she heard the ding that announced the arrival of the elevator car on her left. Apparently someone was listening to her prayers because that car had come super-fast. The doors opened to an empty car, and she smiled. Without any other stops along the way she might just make it after all. She stepped into the car and pressed the button marked 64. While she was waiting for the doors to close, she turned away from the doorway and to her purse just to double check she had everything she needed. She didn't have time to actually go back if she forgot anything but she wanted to make sure that if she didn't have something that she wouldn't be so shocked later when she couldn't find it.

She was so intent on her task that she paid very little attention to what was going on around her that she barely heard another person enter the elevator just as the door closed. She didn't notice that the newcomer was so distracted by the hunt for his ringing cellphone that he didn't even notice that there was another person in the car. Or that this newcomer was someone she knew very well even if she hadn't seen him in years.

The newcomer quickly stabbed the button marked 50 with the hand holding a coffee cup as his other hand searched in vain for the ringing phone in his satchel. Finding it only after it had stopped ringing. He quickly pulled it out to see that not only had he missed the call but had no signal as well on his phone in which to call the person back.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed out loud in frustration. This was just not his morning. First the coffee shop had taken twice as long this morning and he had missed a call that he had been waiting on for over a week. He felt like punching something but knew that if he hit the wall of the elevator that it would possibly break his hand so he refrained from the violence that he wanted to commit.

At the sound of the voice next to her, Kim instantly froze in place as the hair on the back of her neck rose. This was like a nightmare only she knew that she wasn't asleep. She would know that voice anywhere, no matter how long it had been since she heard it. For her it was, and always would be unmistakable. She had heard it so many times in her sleep that she knew she could pick his voice out of a crowd with a thousand voices and her eyes closed.

"No!" Her mind screamed. "It can't be." She whispered to herself unable to believe who was in the elevator with her.

She slowly turned and looked at the person next to her. As he came into view the shock of seeing him here, of all places was so overwhelming that it caused the handle of her guitar case, that she had actually forgotten that she had with her, to slip from her hand. The case landed on the elevator floor with a loud thump. The unexpected loud noise caused his head to suddenly turn to his right. What he saw managed to make his breath catch in his throat. Was his eyes playing tricks on him or was that really Kimberly Anne Hart standing beside him?

"Tommy?" Kim managed to stammer out once she found her voice.

"Kim?" He managed to ask once he was able to breathe again. He still wasn't sure that she was really in here with him. His mind could have just heard her voice echoing through his brain like it always did.

The past swirled around them as the doors closed soundlessly and the car rose swiftly. Neither spoke as they let the past take control of their minds. They shared so much that it was hard just to act like they were just two people riding in an elevator. Memories flooded both of their minds as they remembered high schools days, stolen glances, sweet kisses, and a million other things that had defined their relationship of three years.

Kim looked over Tommy and noted the changes in his appearance. The long locks of hair that she had run her fingers through so many times, were long gone. In its place was short spikey hair that had more gel than she had used in her lifetime. What had caused this change in him, she wondered.

Tommy was doing the same thing as Kimberly. He could see the small changes in her but mostly she was the same girl that he had fallen in love with that first day in Angel Grove. She even smelled the same, he noted.

As each one was lost in their thoughts the city began to experience something that everyone hated but prepared for anyway. The elevator started to shake uncontrollably, as the lights start to flicker on and off very quickly almost as if they were strobe lights; until finally the elevator stopped moving completely. The lights then went off and stayed off throwing them into total darkness. A few moments later the emergency lights kicked on.

"What just happened?" asked Kim looking up at Tommy. Concern was written all over her face.

"I think it was an earthquake." Tommy replied looking down at her. He could feel her fear bouncing around the car. It was then that he remembered she had been trapped in a jug years ago. This was probably bringing up all kinds of bad memories.

"We've stopped," stated Kim pointing out the obvious but Tommy knew that this wasn't an everyday occurrence for her or him.

"Yeah the building must have lost power." He remarked looking up at the lights. The one good thing was that the elevator was stable for the moment. If they didn't experience very many aftershocks then they should be fine until someone could get them out.

"Great!" She stated in a higher pitch. "So we are stuck in here for the foreseeable future. Just how long do you think this will last?" Kim asked getting a bit agitated now.

"I don't know, till the power comes back on I guess." He answered. "But there should be a phone or something in here for just such a situation. We can let someone know we are stuck in here. We just need to find it." He stated looking around while trying to stay calm for the both of them. Since she was losing it, he needed to keep his cool. They needed a rational mind for whatever was coming next

After ten minutes of searching in the dimly lit car they find the emergency call box but phone in it had a sign that read out of order.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kim growled. "How can it be broken? Aren't they supposed to maintain this stuff?" asked Kim in a rather stressed and frustrated tone that Tommy knew so well. It was the one that he heard often even when Zedd or Rita sent a monster to Angel Grove.

"Well I guess we will guess we're just going to have to dangle here between..." He paused as he looked up at the dial that indicted the floor number the elevator was at. "The 35th and 36th floor till the power comes back on." He snapped back at her but he made sure that it wasn't mean. He didn't need her fury directed at him for the time being since they were in this small, confine space.

"Well if the phone doesn't work maybe we can get someone's attention if we make enough noise." She suggested looking around the car.

"I guess it can't hurt. It will at least let people know that there are people in the elevator that need to be rescued." He sighed as she nodded. If only they had their morphers, he was pretty sure that they could get out of here if they were morphed.

With Tommy in agreement, the two of them started to bang on the walls and doors of the elevator. They also yelled for help. After a few minutes of no response, he stopped. Then he pulled her away from doing the same. "Stop Kimberly, don't bother. I don't think anyone can hear us, or they would have responded by now." He stated rubbing her small shoulders.

"So that's it? We are stuck with each other until someone learns that we are in here." She asked as he released her shoulders. She backed away from him waiting for his answer.

"For now yes." He replied with a sigh. This wasn't what she wanted, he knew but there was nothing he could do about it.

She sighed heavily at that thought. Seeing that they were not going anywhere, anytime soon she sat down on the floor of the car with her back to the far wall away from him and rubbed her eyes with the heels of palms. She should have just taken the stairs because then she would have been at her meeting and not in the elevator with her first love.

Tommy looked down at her and groaned. He did not want to be here right now but there was nothing he could do about that now. Giving up, he leaned back against the wall and slid down the wall to sit down. He was facing her as he stretched out his legs. He made sure not to touch her and wondered how they would pass the time. Talking was probably not a good idea with Kim's present frame of mind but he wasn't going to just sit and stare at her the whole time they were in here.

"So what brings you here today?" He asked hoping that she wouldn't freeze up on him and refuse to talk.

"I had an opportunity with a record company although I'm sure my not showing up has thrown that out of the water." She replied bending her knees and pulling them to her chest. She rested her head on her knees and looked at him.

"Why were you here today?" She asked picking up the conversation. She knew why Tommy had asked her first and understood that they couldn't be just sit here like they didn't know each other. She wished they could but they never could sit in the same room and not talk. Tommy might be quiet with everyone else but with her, he could talk more than her.

"I had a job interview." He replied finally. This was supposed to be a change of pace for him. This job meant starting over in a new city but here he was again with his past. Only this time, his past was trapped with him so he had to face it.

"Really? I think you're going to be late." She remarked as he nodded.

"Yea it looks like it." He muttered. "So you went back to music? What happened with gymnastics?" He asked as she closed her eyes. He could tell that his question hurt her but he didn't understand why. If she had quit gymnastics then she shouldn't be upset about her decision.

"I got hurt." She whispered. Images of Kimberly lying in a hospital bed flooded his mind. She had been hurt before and just like that time, he hadn't been there. He had been a Power Ranger but he never seemed to be in the right place to save her from falling.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked sounding hurt. Looking over at him, she realized then that she should have told him. They might have been exes but he did deserve an explanation from her. It might be painful to tell him but she would.

"I didn't tell anyone but Jason and Trini. It wasn't that bad just a torn ACL but it meant that I couldn't perform anymore or I would risk injuring myself further. So I gave up my dream and tried for something else." She explained as he nodded.

"Was it a fall from the beam?" He asked.

"Yea, I was doing a double twist and missed the beam. I landed on the ball of my foot and tore the ACL. They told me that they see that type of injury more in basketball players than gymnastics. They said that I must have been doing something wrong if I had that injury." She stated. "Anyway I moved onto music after that. It was a way to help heal and clear my soul." She explained.

"You always did love music." He mused as she smiled sadly. He remembered that last time that she had played for him. She had been home from Christmas and they had just saved Christmas from Zedd and Rita. It had also been the last time that they had kiss but that was neither here nor there.

"Yea second to gymnastics it was another dream." She said looking at the guitar that she had dropped earlier. I moved back on this coast because after my injury, there was nothing left for me in Florida. I started playing again once I moved back. Writing my own songs helped with everything that was going on. I was playing one night and out of a stroke of luck, I got noticed." She informed.

"You were always a good writer. I remember the song that you and Zack wrote for me after losing my powers for the second time." Tommy remarked looking over at her. "So you got noticed and made it here?" He asked.

"Yea basically, Janice Glacier of Fire and Ice records wanted me to come down and play the song she heard me play last Sunday to her partner. Now I was shocked because I didn't even think it was one of my better songs, it is a bit darker than what I used to write. It came out of this one week during my recovery, when I was in this horrid funk." She explained. "Somehow writing the song became this therapeutic experience, and helped me break through it, and allowed me to start moving forward into my future. The title is 'Something Missing.'" She stated.

"Something Missing?" He asked as she nodded.

"Ironic how fitting that is for today, who would have guessed the something missing would be me." Kim quipped bitterly, as she kicked off her high heels one by one and made herself more comfortable. It looked like they were going to be here for a while so she might as well get comfortable.

"You're not the only one that's missing at the moment." He muttered as he loosen his tie and unbutton the top two buttons of his shirt.

"It's funny I was talking on my phone to Aisha right before I got into this elevator. She told me only an act of divine intervention would keep me out of that meeting. Man, did she hit the nail on the head with that one!" Kim scoffed and shook her head then said. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I mean a once in a lifetime golden opportunity, the kind that only ever really happen in the movies or storybooks, fell right into my lap, and I can't get there though because I'm stuck in here. Is that supposed to be some kind of a sign? Is someone, somewhere trying to tell me something?" She growled as Tommy sighed. Kimberly had changed over the past few years that it was like he was seeing someone different instead of a girl that he had known and loved for years.

"I would like to hear it." He requested as Kim looked over at him.

"Really?" She asked not sure that she heard him correctly. "You actually want to hear my song?" Kim asked.

"Why not?" He replied with a shrug. "What else do we have to do? Besides you used to play for me and the others all the time, how is this any different?" He asked remembering all the times that she had played in the Youth Center and the park.

Kim tilted her to the side, as she raised one eyebrow and just looked at him strangely for a moment. Was Tommy really asking her to play because he wanted to hear her new sound? A smile slowly began to form before she started to laugh softly. She shook her head slightly and said, "Only you would ask that!" She paused for a few moments, before finally said, "Alright I'll play it for you. But fair warning it is a bit depressing."

Leaning over to her guitar case she opened it. She took out her instrument and quickly tuned it. "Ok, ready," she told him as she looked up at him and smiled.

A soft, slow, melancholy melody began to pour from her guitar and she started to sing.

_The day is new and the sky is blue. _

_I look around to find that I am too._

_I don't know why I feel the way I do._

_Like a part of me has come unglued. _

_There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way, _

_Something I've lost along the way. _

_Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today._

_Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart._

_The cold wind blows across my soul. _

_Pulling my mind back to the days of old._

_The only place I know for sure I was ever whole._

_What has gone astray I cannot say, but I hope to find out someday? _

_There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way, _

_Something I've lost along the way._

_Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today. _

_Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart._

_Will I ever shake this feeling and find a sunny day? _

_Because it seems right now that the shadows are here to stay._

_Painting my life in shades of gray._

_I really need to find that piece today._

_There must be something I'm missing to make me feel this way,_

_Something I've lost along the way._

_Something I'm missing, that I should have here with me today. _

_Cause every time I go looking, I only find a hole in my heart. _

As she finished her song she finally looked up from her guitar to him. The silence that filled the elevator was even more uncomfortable than it had been before. It stretched out for a few minutes; until she couldn't take it anymore. "Well? Say something!" She pleaded. "I told you it wasn't one of my better ones…" She started but was cut off quickly by Tommy raising his hand.

"I like it. I mean it is very different but you're different." He stated. "I can see the changes that have happened over the years." He remarked with a slow smile.

"Thanks." She whispered. Tommy's praise had always warmed her heart. It didn't matter if it was a new move that she had performed on the beam or just kicking some monster's butt, his praise was something she had always wanted.

"Kimberly…"He began as the elevator began to shake again, leaving the two of them in terror of what this shake would cause.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN:__ For all that have favorited, followed or reviewed this fic, I thank you. _

"Not another earthquake," lamented Kim, as the car started to shake again.

"No, I think that was an aftershock." He stated looking around the car. This felt different than the first so he knew that it just had to be an aftershock.

They lapped into silence as the car shook for a few more minutes until everything was still once again.

"Are we safe in here? The car isn't going to go anywhere is it?" She asked as her voice broke. "The engineers plan for situations exactly like this when they design the brakes and safety systems for these things don't they?" She asked louder this time, her voice full of panic as she looked up at Tommy.

"We should be fine in here, as long as the initial quake didn't damage the elevator's internal mechanisms too badly." He guessed. "But I have a feeling that we would already know if it had." He remarked placing a hand on her small shoulder to reassure her. He was trying to soothe her fears, while not letting on that he was scared as well. In that moment he suddenly felt utterly powerless, and he hated it. When they were younger he always been able to save her no matter what the situation, but now he couldn't even help himself. All he could do was put up a brave front of reassurance for her, and pray to God that he was right and that the elevator holds out till they managed to get out of it.

"Good!" She said a little too excited. "I hope that is true. Cause no offence, but I so do not want this day to be my last one." She remarked with a small touch of humor. It was all she could manage at the time but he was at least happy that she was calming down.

"None taken, I completely agree with you." He responded whole heartedly. He did not want to die in an elevator. It seemed too tame after all that he had lived through especially with living through everything he had done as a Power Ranger. He had survived being thrown out of machines from heights that we greater than some of the tallest buildings in the world.

They both sat back down bracing for whatever would come next.

Once things settled down and they didn't experience anymore aftershocks, they seemed to drift off into their own projects with things that they had with them. Kimberly had been going thru her sheet music that was in her bag and trying to work on some of her new songs, while Tommy was going through the paperwork in his satchel trying to get something done. It was just stuff to keep their minds off of the fact that they were stuck in an elevator that could plunge them to their death. They both were working quietly when suddenly the silence of the car was broken by Kim's stomach rumbling loudly in the small space. Tommy knew that sound well because it rivaled Rocky's at times.

"Hungry?" He asked as he looked up from his papers at her, he was smirking a bit as he did so.

"Yeah, I was too nervous to eat this morning because I didn't know what to expect. So I kind of skipped breakfast this morning," She replied placing one hand across her stomach.

"Not the best decision in hindsight, now was it?" He asked her in a tone a little too smug for her liking. It was a tone that she knew well but they were not dating now so she didn't have to accept it.

"Well I did have the good sense to pack two meal replacement bars and pack of dried cranberries and a water bottle in my bag for later," she stated with smirk of her own. "I was going to share them with you, but if you're going to take that tone with me you can just eat your coffee cup if you get hungry." She quipped at him with just hint of the attitude of the girl he used to know. He wasn't sure why but it made him smile even more. This was the Kimberly that he remembered so well. The one that was so full of life that everyone wanted to be around her just to catch some of her rays.

"Kim, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He stated as she sighed.

"Fine, I'll share with you but no more smart remarks." She warned as he nodded. "So which do you want, the cranberries or the bars?" She asked pulling them both out of her huge bag.

"I think I'll go with the bar. I'm not sure the cranberries would go good with my coffee." He commented as she handed him one of the bars. "Thanks." He said taking the bar from her.

"No problem." She responded. "Do you think we should save them though?" She asked as her stomach rumbled again.

"Not sure if you can go without food any longer but I'm not that hungry yet so I'll save mine in case we have to split it later." He said pocketing the bar.

"Are you sure? I mean I can just eat some of it to ease the rumbling." She said as he shook his head no. "Okay but don't get mad at me later for eating now."

"I won't." He promised. "I'm just glad that you had something with you. I didn't relish dividing tic-tacs."

"You have tic-tacs? You're holding out on me." She protested with a smile.

"Yea, I'm holding out on you. Those are the key to my survival." He said with a smile of his own.

"If they're orange then you are holding out." She stated as he pulled them out of his pocket. "Oh you're so busted." She said as he shook his head.

"Don't worry, beautiful I'll share them with you." He said as she sighed. He paused when he saw her face. The name had just slipped out but he didn't regret it. She would always be his beautiful no matter how much time had passed.

* * *

They fell silent again as Kim finished her bar but she couldn't take the quiet so she decided to actually talk to him. It was better than the silence at this point.

"So tell me more about how the others are doing." She said causing him to look back at her. "I really only hear from Aisha and Jason." Kim mentioned.

"Well Billy is still living in Aquitar as far as I know. I don't get to talk to him too much because of the time difference between the planets." He stated as she nodded. "Tanya is on tour at the moment which is driving Adam crazy."

Kim smiled. "I can see how that would drive him crazy. Touring is hard and with how big Tanya is now, I bet he barely gets to talk to her." She remarked as he nodded.

"Katherine is still in London. Apparently she got the lead in some ballet but she is engaged now. I met the guy and he is perfect for her." He stated. "I mean if someone is perfect for another person." He commented.

"I'm sure that he is perfect for her." She mused. "What about Justin? I never get to hear from him." She asked.

"He's good, just graduated college with his Masters. Of course he really wants to be a ranger again. I think giving his powers up to stay here on Earth really bugs him." He stated.

"I know how he feels." Kim muttered. "It's not the easiest decision to turn over something that it a huge part of your life."

"Yea tell me about it." He remarked. "Anyway, you said that you talk to Jason and Aisha." He said as she nodded. "Have you seen your niece and nephew then?" He asked.

"Yea." She said smiling. "Jason and Trini's son is so much like Jason that I'm scared for Trini."

"Rocky and Aisha's daughter scares me." Tommy stated.

"Why? Anna is perfect." Kim said thinking about the little girl.

"Perfect? Are you sure that you're thinking of the right child. I mean she is too much like Rocky to be perfect." He said. "I just saw her yesterday and she was hungry the entire time I was there."

"Tommy, babies eat a lot. It's normal." Kim pointed out. "I think that she will become more like Aisha when she gets older."

"I hope you're right because if not then I fear that they will drive Aisha crazy." He said as she laughed.

"Aisha can handle Rocky so why not one more." She said leaning back against the wall of the elevator.

"I hope you're right because if not, we may need to bail her out of jail in the near future." He muttered as she laughed and closed her eyes.

Tommy leaned back as well and closed his eyes. Hopefully they would be getting out of here soon because the small space was getting to him.

After several minutes of quietness, Kimberly opened her eyes.

"Ugh! What time is it?" She asked as she tried to roll the stiffness out her neck and shoulders. She was so over this and ready to get out of here. Someone had to know that they were stuck in here by now.

"It's 2: 45." He answered as he checked his watch before lowering his arm.

Kim stopped rolling her neck and shoulders and just looked at him. Doing a quick count in her head she groaned. "Five hours already! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed.

"Me either." Tommy groaned. He didn't think that they had been in here that long but after she said it, it was all he could think about.

Suddenly feeling restless in the small space she stood up and started pacing. "Why hasn't anyone found us by now? Are they even looking?" She ranted to vent some of her frustrations.

"I'm sure that there is a lot of rubble in the area that they are digging through to even began in the buildings." He pointed out as she groaned again.

After tripping over his feet for the third time, she turned on him. Kicking his feet, she snapped. "Why can't you move your feet? Can't you see that I'm trying to pace here!" She yelled with her hands on her hips.

Tommy looked up at her and normally he would let a little thing like this slide, but with this forced captivity wearing on him as well he can't help but stand up and snap back at her. "What the hell am I supposed to do Kimberly? This space is small enough as it is, and you are trying to make it smaller!" He yelled. "You think you're the only one that is tense and restless in here?" He asked towering over her. "You're not! So if you're dead set on pacing then you're going to have to work around me, princess! Don't expect me to pick you up if you fall over either, that's not my job anymore." He snapped back at her answering her frustration with his own, as he sat back down.

Kim huffed in response before walking as far as she could from him, which isn't far, and sat down directly across from him. Glaring at him, she tried to wither him where he sat with her scorching stare. All he could do was groan and rub his face with his hand.

The small talk and catching up with each other had run dry over an hour ago. While they were talking they had seemed to settle back into a relaxed almost comfortable manor like they used to have. But that quickly evaporated when the easy topics to discuss had run out. Since then there has been this awkward silence in which both of them looked as if they were trying to work up the courage to talk about something deeper but each failed. So instead they had both been fidgeting and doing little things to drive each other slowly crazy, which would explain why they are starting to snap on each other now. What was worse was that to his great surprise and dismay, that under all the frustration from the current situation and the awkwardness from all unresolved issues between them, that same chemistry that pulled them together to start with was still there. If anything it seemed to be burning even stronger than before which given their present situation was not a good thing.

The silence seemed to stretch out to an almost deafening level in the tiny car. Till finally he decided to break it and ask the question that had been burning in the back of his mind since he heard her song.

"Kim?" He asked looking over at her.

"What?" She spat out in a still angry tone. He knew that she was still angry but hopefully she would calm down a little once he took her mind off of the fact that they were still in this elevator.

"What does the song mean? What is the inspiration behind it?" He asked in calm, neutral tone trying to show that he wasn't angry.

"I told you that already." She replied looking back at him. He could tell that she didn't like his question but he really wanted to know what it meant.

"No, you told me when you wrote it. You told me how you felt writing it but you didn't say why or what the meaning behind it was. That is what I want to know," He stated still in a calm tone. He could tell that she was finally calming down.

She sighed deeply. "Fine." She stated. "Honestly I don't really know what it means. It just poured out of me that day in the middle of just a really dark week. In the first few weeks after I wrote it, I just thought it was over the loss of my career." She explained pulling her knees up to her chest. He knew that that was a sign that she was uneasy. She had always done that when she was nervous and uneasy about a situation.

"Do you still have that feeling? The one the song is expressing?" He asked her leaning forward.

"Sometimes, but not as often as I used to though." She replied. "It's mostly at night when I'm home by myself." She answered truthfully. Sighing she made eye contact with him briefly, but then looked away from his gaze. It had been too intense for her to hold. It had been like he was trying to see into her soul which she knew that he could do no problem. Tommy had always been able to read her like a book.

"Do you still think it is over the loss of your career?" He asked still looking at her.

"I'm not sure." She muttered. "I mean now looking back it doesn't seem that big a loss. I would've had to step away in a few years anyway because I would have been competing against girls who were half my age. It is harder to deal with though because the choice was taken out of my hands." She said.

"I don't think it was about your career." He said suddenly which caused her to look at him.

"If it's not my career that is missing then why don't you enlighten me on what you think the answer is?" She responded in a tone that got rather snarky.

He shook his head in disbelief before replying, "Isn't it obvious?" He asked. "It's clearly about us! What we should have been." He fired at her. "I'm the missing piece! It's just as clearly stated in the words, and by the pain that I felt in your voice when you sang." He said.

She looked at him utterly shocked as if his words had been a verbal slap in the face. Then her eyes narrowed as her expression shifted into one of anger. A few moments later she exploded. "You've developed one hell of an ego since I last saw you. If you have the audacity to think for even one minute that I would write a song about you let alone that one, you have another thing coming!" She yelled. "Tell me, how do you and that ego fit in the same car? Or does it need to follow along behind in a taxi because it's so huge? I'm surprised there is enough room for me in here between you and that ego!" She shouted as his eyes flashed at her.

"My ego! Really, my ego is not the problem." He shouted back at her. "You're the one that wrote that song. Any fool can see that it's about us." He fired at her.

* * *

After an intense argument, they had reached a natural lull in the fighting. It was nowhere near over, just more like the end of round one. She reached into her bag and took out her water bottle taking a long gulp from it, before closing it back up and putting it a way. She sat down in her corner and stewed for the moment. Her temper was flaring and her heart was pounding. She felt her blood boiling and her mind was racing. She felt more alive in this moment then she had in over a year, and she hated the reason for it. After all this time he could still affect her this way, he could still make her feel like this. Suddenly in the midst of everything something a few of her gal pals once said to her popped into her head, and she burst out in a fit of giggles which of course threw him off.

"What the hell is some damn funny all of a sudden?" He barked his question at her in a very agitated tone as he ran his hand through his gelled hair.

This only made her laugh harder, which made him want to go over and shake her till she talked. He hated not knowing what was making her laugh. He held his ground though and what was left of his composure while waited for her answer.

As her giggles died down to the point where speech was possible she answered him. "Something both Trini and Aisha had commented to me over the years just popped into my head." She said wiping her eyes. "They both repeatedly wished they could just lock us in a room together till we worked out our issues. Well they finally got their wish!" She stated as her giggling starting up anew, and after a few minutes his laughter joined hers.

It was in that moment that the tension between them had been broken, if only for that moment. It was also in that brief moment that she saw the boy she knew not too long ago shining out thru his eyes, the boy that she had loved more than life itself. A warm feeling that she couldn't really explain spread through her heart and body and caused a smile to appear on her face.

As they both settled down from their laughing fit, he looked at her and smiled for a moment. Then his face grew somber as he started to speak. "What happened to us?" He asked slowly.

In just four seemingly harmless words she felt the tension between the return full-force. If she had not been sitting it would have bowled her over it hit her so hard with the pain that she felt in his voice.

"I guess what happens to most long distant relationships." She said heavily. "We were too far apart for too long at too young of an age. Our hearts just started seeking out closer comfort, as harsh as that might sound." She stated in a very neutral matter of fact tone, as if she had been commenting on the weather outside and not a more serious matter of their hearts.

He looked at her a moment before his expression grew hard before he spoke. "That's a load of crap and you know it!" He stated getting angry once again. "I was faithful to you every single day up until you broke my heart with that damn letter! You are the one that quit on us not me. I never quit on you, nor would I have ever." He fired at her as she sighed.

"I realize it was a rotten, cowardly thing to do to you but I saw it as the lesser of two evils. "She explained. "Hurt you a little to avoid hurting you a lot more later on," Kim fired back.

Tommy jumped back up as she did the same. "You could have not hurt me at all!" He yelled. "You didn't even answer my phone calls after that blasted letter." He stated.

"I couldn't." She stated on the verge of tears.

"I don't believe that, you were just scared. We could have talked about this and got everything out in the open but no you had to run away from me and your feelings." He shot at her.

Just then as they were inches from each other at the height of their very heated argument, the car began to shake again. Only this time much more violently then before because instead of an aftershock it was another earthquake hitting the city. Suddenly the car dropped a short distance before stopping. They were both knocked off their feet and to their butts. The free falling of the elevator caused a scream from Kimberly.

As they reached for each other and pulled close together in a tight embrace, Kim found her voice. "After everything we been through together and everything we faced, I never thought it would end this way, being crushed to death inside a free falling elevator." She cried looking into Tommy's soulful brown eyes.

"Neither did I." He said. "Where's the teleportation power when you really need it?" He asked.

In that moment the back-up lights in the car start to flicker wildly, creating a strobe effect which hurt both their eyes. The shaking caused the car to drop again for a slightly longer distance of a few floors at least. This time they both screamed and for a moment they both think this is it, but the car miraculously stops once again. They hit the floor of the car rather harshly, knocking the breath out of both of them even though they had been already on their butts. The back-up lights go out and stayed out leaving them submerged in total darkness. Thankfully the car was stopped even though it was dark.

In his arms Kim started to sob uncontrollably, as they are both left trembling. As the fear and adrenaline surged through both of them it overwhelmed their senses and emotions unlike ever before. The possibility of dying had never been this close to them before, at least not in this way, when they were both helpless to stop it. The one thing above everything in his mind was the need to try to comfort her. It was something that was always in his mind no matter what the situation was.

He finally realized that the car was stopped. "It's stopped; I think we are going to be ok now." He whispered into her ear as he rubbed her back in comfort.

"This is it isn't it? This is how its ends? Former superheroes crushed in falling elevator." Kim said through almost un-understandable through her sobs.

"NO, it's not!" He disagreed. "Everything will be ok, I promise we will live through this, nothing ends today." He told her in a much more determined confident tone then he actually felt. In truth he was as scared as she was but was not going to let on to it, or give in to it he was going to be strong for her. He had to be strong for her because it's what he always did around her. He also liked being strong because she leaned on him and he liked that.

Pulling back a little from her, he kissed her forehead once in reassurance. It wasn't enough though because he felt compelled to repeat his action. It was the third time that he leaned in to kiss her forehead that she had moved. Now it was she who was kissing him on the lips. It was a kiss so frantic, so desperate, so emotionally charged that it instantly ignited a wildfire with in them both. One that they are both all too soon completely engulfed by and lost to, as they start to comfort each other on a more basic and primal level.

Kim started pulling his shirt out of his dress slacks while he was working her shirt over her head. They both knew that this was wrong but neither was stopping it because they needed to feel alive in that moment. They could die at any moment so they were going to feel alive one last time with each other.

90 minutes later

The back-up lights suddenly flicker back on just as Kim was halfway through re-buttoning her blouse. Tommy was in the process of re-tying his tie, before grabbing his jacket of the floor of the car.

"The lights are back on that a good sign right?" Kim asked hesitantly looking over at him. A blush crept up her cheeks at the sight of his tie. It wasn't straight anymore after their little encounter.

"Um…Yeah I think so." He answers in the same uncertain tone looking back at her.

"You don't think that the cameras were on during that do you?" She asked remembering the fact that each elevator was equipped with cameras.

Tommy groaned because he had forgotten about the cameras. "I don't think so because the lights were out. I assume that they are tied to the same power supply." He replied as she nodded.

They were completely dumbfounded over what just happened even though they both wanted it. It so unexpected, of course, and it could just be chalked up to the fear and uncertainty of the moment, but it didn't change the fact that it still happened. They had just had sex in an elevator with each other.

Where this left them now, neither one had a clue as to even begin to try to figure that out. All they knew was that a complicated relationship just got even more complicated. It left them unsure of how to act or what to say to each other now. As they each finished getting re-dressed they slipped into the most awkward silence as they were each lost in their own thoughts of what just happened and what will happen now.

The one thing that they didn't think about was regret. After over ten years of waiting, neither one of them regretted what they had just done. They regretted the effect of sleeping together but not the act itself. They could never regret that because they still wanted to do it again which was crazy in itself.


	3. Chapter 3

Time seemed to stretch out to a painfully slow crawl as they sat in silence. Somehow that one act had stripped the years from them both, and suddenly they were both teenagers again, with no idea how to talk to each other and feeling unbearably awkward. Out of sheer nerves Kim took her water bottle out of her bag and took a large gulp from it.

"Thirsty?" she asked timidly daring a glance over at him before quickly looking away again. Mentally kicking herself for how she sounded, why now of all moments does she choose to get shy around him?

"Yeah, kind of," He answered a little timid as well. It was like he had reverted back to that loner he had been when they had first met in high school.

This surprised her enough to look up at him and make eye contact for the first time since the back-up lights came back on. What she saw was intense but overall confused, both of them looked away quickly, finding others thing to focus on instead.

"Um…here." She said as she leaned over to hand him the bottle. Their hands brushed slightly as the bottle passed between them. The resulting jolt of electricity that seemed to pass between them at that small fleeting contact bewildered them both greatly, causing him to almost drop the bottle which would have not helped the situation at all.

After taking a long slug of water he says, "Thanks," then handed the bottle back to her.

The silence quickly re-asserted itself and seemed to weigh heavily in the space between them. It was if an elephant had suddenly materialized in the elevator between them. It was this heavy awkward silence that was more nerve racking than anything else so far. Just out of a need to do something with her hands, to keep her from losing her mind completely and out of trouble she reached into her bag and pulled out the bag of cranberries and opened it up. She took a large handful and shoved as much of it into her mouth as she possibly could.

This small action seemed to serve as the distraction she needed, until she heard the voice next to her quietly ask. "Could I have some of those?"

She looked at him and nodded before resealing the bag and then tossing it to him. He quickly repeated her actions, not only for distraction, but cause he hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning and it had finally caught up with him. After he had another handful, he then tossed the bag back to her. The distraction was short lived and all too soon they were back to the silence and their thoughts.

Eventually it all became too much for him to bear, prompting him into speech. "This is ridiculous!" He stated exasperatedly.

"What is?" She asked him curiously.

"This!" He growled. "The whole not talking thing, we are both adults here, and this there is absolutely nothing wrong with what just happened. There is nothing to be ashamed of in what we just did." He answered but was cut off from saying more by a loud banging against the elevator doors, after everything that had already happened the sudden loud noise startled a small scream out of Kim. She was instantly embarrassed by it because after all the things she had dealt with in her life up to this point a loud noise shouldn't be able rattle her that much. There was another loud bang followed in quick secession by several others till finally the doors were pried open.

"Hello in there! Who ready to exit the elevator?" asked an elderly gentleman in grimy blue coveralls. They had never been more excited in their lives to see a maintenance man before.

"We are!" Tommy said quickly jumping up.

"Oh thank God!" Kim exclaimed as they quickly gathered their things and climbed out of the elevator.

"Welcome to the 30th floor." The man said a little too cheerfully as he helped them both step up out of the elevator car and out into the hallway. Since the elevator wasn't quite level with the doors they needed help because the floor of the hallway was at about knee height. The name on the name tag sewn onto the coveralls read Gus. Upon looking around it was easy to see that Gus was not alone. There were three other workers in coveralls and tool belts just like him, who were struggling with holding and propping the doors open so that they would have maintained access to the elevator car.

"30th?" Kim asked as he nodded. "We originally stopped between the 35th and 36th floor." Kim muttered looking around trying not to think about what would have happened if the car had continued to fall.

Gus removed the red rag that was hanging out of his back pocket, which was as grimy as his coveralls, and mopped the sweat from his balding head, before replying. "Dreadfully sorry about that ma'am, But the two earthquakes really did a number on the internal mechanisms of the elevators. The damage made stabilizing the elevator cars extremely difficult. It normally doesn't take 12 hours to get someone out of a stuck elevator. You two and the lot of folks in car one that got stuck on the 70th floor, should consider yourselves very lucky." He stated. "We lost cars two and four completely, thank goodness they were empty." He informed them.

Both Kim and Tommy looked at the man in front of them in utter shock.

"Twelve Hours?" Kim asked in a stunned tone.

Just at that moment the walkie-talkie on Gus's belt crackled to life, as a voice is heard shouting. "MAYDAY, MAYDAY! We are losing number 3. Clear the area immediately. I repeat we are losing number three. Clear the area immediately!"

Suddenly a large metallic groan could be heard coming from the shaft, followed shortly thereafter by a loud high pitched snap. They looked over just in time to see the elevator disappear from view, leaving them staring at an empty elevator shaft as the plummeting car crashed into the sub-basement with such force that the entire building could be felt shaking from it. A massive dust cloud was kicked up the shaft and made it to the open doors at their floor. Upon seeing this Kimberly promptly fainted, only to be caught by Tommy before she actually hit the floor. It had been nothing but instinct for him to catch her.

It took a few minutes to get her to come around again after that. He whispered in her ear the same line he said to her, after the first time he saw her faint. Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she asked, "What happened?" She didn't realized she was being cradled closely in his arms and not standing on her feet.

"You fainted after you saw the elevator we just got out of drop to the ground." He answered her in a soft, kind tone that bought back hundreds of memories for her.

"Ugh! I haven't done that since high school." She groaned sounding disgusted with herself, as he helped her to her feet.

"Well in this instance I don't blame you." He said. "In fact I almost felt like doing that same thing myself, after seeing that elevator plummet. Gus and the other workers got to us just in time." He said placing his hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her.

"Ah, welcome back ma'am." Gus said from behind her. "I realize that was a bit of a scare, sorry about that. Now if you two would follow me I'll take you to see the medics." He said motioning them to follow him.

"We don't need to do that Gus we are fine." Tommy said looking at Kimberly as she nodded.

"Sorry sir, but I have my orders from building management. Nobody leaves till they are cleared by the medics. The other lot wasn't thrilled about this either, but it has to be done." Gus stated looking from Kimberly to Tommy.

"Let's just get this over with I want to go home." Kim mumbled in a weary tone before sighing and following Gus. Tommy was right behind her since he wanted to leave as well.

Twenty minutes later they were both in the building's lobby being checked over by the EMTs.

"Please remove your jacket, sir. I need to check off that you are 100% okay from the fall." The medic checking over Tommy said. Sighing Tommy did as he asked but when he did small blood stains could be seen on the back of his light colored dress shirt.

"Did you know that you're bleeding sir?" The medic asked in an alarmed tone. He wasn't sure what could have caused those marks.

"No I didn't." Tommy replied trying to play it off. He had a pretty good idea of where that blood had come from. He even remembered when Kimberly had done that but he never thought that she would have made him bleed.

"I'm going to have to ask you to remove your shirt to get a look at that sir." The medic ordered laying his chart to the side. He had been making notes on Tommy's condition during the examination.

"Fine!" He snapped in indignation. He really did not want to provide any entertainment for the EMTs.

After doing so the medic saw that the blood had come from several deep scratches. The kind that could have only come from human fingernails and given their location and positioning on his back, the medic knew exactly where those marks had come from. Looking over at the woman that had been in the elevator, he couldn't blame anyone for doing what they did. As the medic treated and bandaged the scratches he started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Tommy growled with a low voice because he didn't want Kimberly to overhear their conversation.

"Looks like you found something to do while awaiting rescue." The medic replied in an amused tone that really grated on Tommy's nerves.

"That's none of your business!" Tommy snarled at the medic as he put his shirt back on. He turned to look at Kim and saw her blushing bright red. She obviously overheard the medic's statement.

"Relax man, you are not the first and you won't be the last to have done so." The medic said calmly. He realized that they were both embarrassed over what they had done but he had seen it before.

Five minutes later they had both been cleared to leave. He walked her to her car, being the gentleman as always. They exchanged phone numbers and email addresses, both agreeing that friends shouldn't go so long without speaking to each other. After doing so they both lingered in the moment not wanting to leave yet, though not quite understanding why. Something was pulling them together even though they wanted to pull apart.

"You know all of our friends are going to be gossiping about this." She said as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I know, you should be used to them gossiping about us." He said shaking his head. "I know I am they have been doing it for years now." He said to her with a smile.

"I guess you're right." She responded, while returning his smile with one of her own.

A few seconds passed before he pulled her close and kissed her cheek before parting.

* * *

It had been 3 months since that day in the elevator and neither one of them had the courage to contact the other first, neither wanted to be the one to bridge the gap. She had been confused about that day ever since. Not quite sure what it all meant, or what it should mean. Emotions and thoughts she hadn't had to deal with in a long time had plagued her now and ever since that day.

Today she was sitting in her doctor's office waiting on the doctor to come in and explain her test results. She had been feeling sick lately and very sluggish and her friends at the coffee shop had been teasing her that she looked like she was starting to gain weight. She thought that they are just being silly because she didn't see it at all and really gaining weight wasn't a bad thing. She had always been on the smaller side even after she had given up gymnastics.

The door opened at that moment and Dr. Sellers walked in with Kim's chart in her hand. She was a lovely woman who always treated Kim kindly, as well as being a fine doctor. She sat down at her desk and opened the file in her hands and read it over for a minute or two before looking up at Kimberly.

"I've gone over all the tests and I've even had a few done twice to be 100% sure." She said as Kim nodded. "I can tell you with complete confidence that what you have been experiencing is totally normal for one in your condition." She said with a soft smile.

"Exactly what is that condition doc?" Kim asked wondering about that smile. "It can't be the flu, it doesn't last this long, and besides I already had my flu shot for the year." Kim mused.

"You're right, it's not the flu," Dr. Sellers replied.

"What is it, then?" Kim asked anxiously wanting to know this minute what was going on with her body.

"You're pregnant honey." The doctor said softly. "Congratulations."

"WHAT?" Kim yelled loudly as she jumped to her feet. "I haven't even been with…" She started then trailed off as the realization of when and who hit her like a ton of bricks before she crumbled back into her chair. "Oh My God," she gasped to herself paling right in front of the doctor's eyes at the thought of being pregnant from the episode in the elevator.

"I take it you know who the father is?" The doctor asked her.

Kim just nodded her head. She was in too much shock to actually speak. The rest of the appointment went by in a blur as she tried to wrap her head around the fact that she had a life growing inside her. The doctor told her a great many things but she was barely heard any of it. She just took everything she was handed and walked out to her car on autopilot.

By the time she got behind the wheel of her car, the dam on her emotions gave way. She broke down completely as massive sobs wracked her frame. Of all the things the doctor could have told her, this was never something she considered being possibly on the list. She had pushed that episode in the elevator to the back of her mind or had tried too.

As the true gravity of the situation started to sink in she cried harder but also started to get very scared. What was she going to do? How was she going to handle the changes this was going to bring to her life? She knew that whatever choices she was going to make she couldn't do this alone. Now more than ever she was going to need the man that she had considered her big brother all her life. She knew that he would be there for her just like he had been all her life.

She grabbed her phone and dialed the all too familiar number with shaky hands. He would be expecting to hear from her anyway since the last time they talked she told him she was going to go see the doctor because she wasn't feeling well. He had told her it was about time since she had been sick too long for his liking.

The phone rang a few times before he picked up and knowing who was calling he tossed out the normal greetings.

"So what hideous disease are you dying from?" He asked with an amused tone in his voice which showed he was teasing her. At that moment she sniffled and opened her mouth to speak but couldn't make the words come out. Her hesitation drained all the amusement from him and left him with chills. _Just how bad was it if she couldn't tell him_, he wondered. Panic started to rise in his voice as he asked in a more serious tone. "Kimberly, what is wrong with you?" He asked. At the change in his voice she starts to sob again into the phone. "That's it." He stated through the phone. "I'm on my way there now. Where are you?" He asked her as he picked up his keys before bolting out the door.

"I'm in my car in front of the doctor's building but I should be back at my apartment by the time you get into town." She replied after pulling herself together enough to answer him. She was still sniffling and sobbing lightly.

"What did the doctor say?" He asked, his tone a bit more forceful this time as he started his car. Never had he wanted to shake her as much as he did at this moment. She never had any trouble telling him anything before no matter how bad it was. His mind was whirling at all the truly horrible possibilities that might have befallen her, like cancer. He prayed that she didn't have cancer; he couldn't deal with it if that was the case.

"I'm...I'm...I'm..." She stammered still struggling with the words trying to get them to come out. She couldn't believe that she couldn't tell Jason. She knew that he wouldn't judge her.

"Just spit it out already Kim!" He shouted finally at the point of snapping. "You're killing me with the suspense!" He explained sorry that he had snapped at her but he needed to know what he was about to face.

"Pregnant." She spit the word out like it left a bad taste in her mouth even though it was far from the truth.

"What?" He asked not sure that he heard her since she had spoken in a hushed tone.

"I'm pregnant." She said again as she heard a screech of brakes over the phone then a very long pause. She knew that she should have softened that a little more than just blurting it out.

"WHAT? HOW? WHEN?" He practically shouted into the phone. She held the phone away from her ear as he yelled. She didn't need hearing damage on top of being pregnant.

She mistook the shock in his voice for harshness and it prompted her to say. "I'm sorry," as the sobs over took her again.

Jason groaned and knew he could have kicked himself for shouting at her but of all the things she could have said he was not even remotely expecting that one. She had shocked the crap out of him and he had reacted poorly.

"Hey now, there no reason for you to apologize," He said in a softer tone. "You didn't do anything wrong, I'm the one who should be sorry. You just surprised me that is all. I reacted without thinking but I'm alright now." He explained. "Please tell me what is going on. How did this happen?" He asked as she gave a watery smile at his question. He listened to her settle down and calmed herself.

After a few moments she spoke. "The same way it did for you and your wife." She said in a weak attempt at humor but he needed to know the facts and he needed to know them now.

"Cute." He retorted. "Now tell me what is really going on? How far along are you? Please tell me you at least know who the father is?" He asked in desperation. He also really wanted to know who the father of her child was so that he could go and kick their butt before making them be the father to his future nephew or niece.

She sighed and suddenly the words seemed to pour forth. "The doctor said I'm three months. Oh and I know who the father is." She stated. "In fact you know him too, rather well I might add."

There was silence at the other end of the line for a long tense few moments before he asked in a slightly confused tone. "Isn't that around the same time you got stuck in the elevator?" His mind seemed to be working overtime trying to piece together her clues.

"Yeah, to the day," She confirmed wondering how long it would take him to figure out who the father was.

"Oh." He said quietly as he thought about what she had just told him. "OH!" He shouted. "Kim what the heck happened?" He asked in a calm but surprised tone. Kim had to smile because she knew that he had guessed the father and it hadn't taken him as long as she thought it would.

"There is a part to the elevator story that I never told you or any of the others." She said taking a breath. She really didn't want to tell Jason this part but he needed to know now. "When we were in the elevator there was a point where the elevator's brakes slipped during the second earthquake and the elevator plummeted a few floors. This happened twice in the span of maybe five minutes and we both thought we were going to die right there in that darn elevator especially after the power went out completely." She said gaining control of her thoughts before she told him the next part. "We were terrified and oddly surging with adrenalin and desperately seeking comfort and solace from each other with whatever time we had left. It quickly escalated to more than that, as if we were trying to steal back a little bit of life from death's door. Afterwards when we had been rescued from the elevator we were a bit embarrassed about the whole thing. Especially when the medic that was checking him over discovered and made a joke about the scratch marks I left on his back." She explained.

"Scratch marks?" He questioned as she rolled her eyes because that's what he picked up on. He was such a guy sometimes that it shocked her.

"Yea," She muttered not really wanting to go into the details of that day.

"I'm ashamed of my little sister." He said with a laugh breaking the tension.

"I'm sure you are." She retorted.

"Well you know I'm really not and I can see why you two did what you did. I think I would have chosen a better place but hey I'm not an exhibitionist like you and your spandex loving ex-boyfriend." He stated as she sighed. Talking to Jason was calming her down so that she could drive home. She had been a little worried about driving home in the condition she had been in after leaving the doctor's office.

"I'm not either but in the circumstances, I couldn't deny myself being with Tommy." She stated. "I mean it could have been the last time." She muttered as he coughed trying to cover up his laugh, she was sure.

"Okay so what happens now? I mean what did Tommy say when you told him?" He asked as she paused. "You have called him right? I mean he's the father so he should know before anyone." He stated as she pulled out of the parking lot.

"I haven't really talked to him since that day, that, that we…." She stated before pausing as he coughed again.

"Yea, I got it but now there is a baby involved." He said as if she didn't already know that. "You will have to talk to him whether you like it or not." He stated.

"Okay, I don't want to talk about this now. I'm driving and so are you so no fighting over the phone." She growled and he knew that it was time to back off the Tommy subject. He would drop it for the moment and press her later when she was actually in front of him and he knew that she was alright.

"Okay, well I'll see you in a little bit, please drive safely. You have my future niece or nephew on board now." He said as she smiled another watery smile while driving. Jason's love for her was in every word.

"I'll see you in a little bit." She said as she pulled the phone away from her ear and hit end. She knew that she should have told Jason not to come but she needed his strength right now and she didn't care to admit it either.

* * *

Three hours later he pulled up in front of her apartment building. Normally the drive from his house took four hours but out of his concern for her and in his haste to reach her he managed to shave at least an hour off the commute time. He quickly exited the car and headed up to her second floor apartment. Once there he used the spare key she had given him in case of emergencies and entered the apartment without knocking. The sight that greeted his eyes made his heart clench; there she was on the couch curled up in the fetal position rocking back and forth slightly just staring off into space. He quickly closed the door and rushed over to her side.

As he got closer he could clearly see just how tear stained her face was. She looked completely zoned out not that he could blame her being here alone for the past few hours waiting for him to arrive. She had maybe a little too much time to think about the whole situation and the immense gravity of it all and most likely went into shock over it. The thing that was the most startling for him about the whole image in front of him was the fact that her face was so utterly blank. For a woman who he knew wore her heart on her sleeve more than just about anyone else he ever met to see her face so totally void of expression or emotion was downright scary. He knelt down to be on her eye level and waved his hand in front of her face. No response at all, not even a blink from her, it was as if he wasn't even there to start with.

"Kim!" He called her name a little louder than needed just to try to get her attention the concern and worry in his voice was immanently obvious. At the sound of his voice she blinked, and it was like a switch had been thrown and she had powered back up.

"Jason?" She called out softly, in not quite a whispered tone but close to it. She then turned her head and saw him before quickly bolting up from her place on the couch and into a much needed brotherly embrace.

She stayed that way for the longest time it seemed before she started to speak, in the hurried and harried rate of speed and tone of the truly, massively upset.

"What am I going to do? I can't afford to support us both in my present situation." She said in a jumble of words that he could barely make out. "I just barely get by on my own as it is but I can't give it up either, its part of me; I can't just abandon it to the world either. I always swore if I ever had kids I make sure they had it better than I did in a peaceful, stable loving home. Not caught in the middle of a never ending fight that he or she will constantly get caught in the middle of like I was." She said breaking his heart a little. He remembered her childhood better than anyone because it had been him that she had run too in those fights. "But how can I pull that off? I don't know the first thing about being a parent, let alone a single one. I don't think I can do it all by myself." She cried against his chest.

"Kim, Kim, Kim. Stop, relax," Jason whispered as he pulled back just enough to see her face. "First off, you are not alone." He stated. "You have me and all the rest of our friends to help you in any way we can. It's kind of like the old expression it takes a village… well we can be that for you, that kid boy or girl will be well loved and spoiled silly!" He explained as she nodded. "Secondly, you're forgetting that the child is also a part of him too, he really should know. He may want to take up the mantel of parent with you. I mean he is a gentleman and has always wanted kids."

At the last part of that statement he saw her eyes grow wide with sudden fear. "Oh my God," She whispered. "He is going to totally freak out when he finds out about this. What if he hates me for this? Or thinks I did this on purpose to trap him or something? What he never wants to speak to me again after finding out. I can't believe this one powerless near death experience and the course of my life is changed forever." She said as Jason starting rubbing her shoulders. "How can I do that to him too?" She questioned as she pulls back and begins to franticly pacing back and forth. All her nervous energy fuels her rant of doubts and possible what if's. "I have to tell the others too. What if they are ashamed of me?" She asked still pacing. "And my mother, what the hell am I going to tell my mother? What if she disowns me when I have to tell her that her unmarried, early 30's aged daughter is making her a grandmother? How do I deal with both parents not talking to me and wanting no part of me?" She cried.

By this point Jason had heard enough, at first he thought she was venting but now he realized she just ranting and working herself into a much more panicked state which was unhealthy for both her and the baby.

"That's it, where your suitcase?" Jason asked in an exasperated tone. She stopped pacing to look at him.

"What?" She asked. "Suitcase? I'm in the middle of a major life crisis and all you can do is think of is my luggage? What the hell is wrong with you?" Kim snapped as his comment broke off her rant and all the nervous energy redirected itself into a sudden burst of anger.

"Ugh!" Jason grunted loudly as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Get your suitcase and start packing!" He ordered assuming the role of leader and meeting her ire with his own.

"What the hell do I have to pack for? A vacation is not going to solve my problems." She retorted in a rather frustrated tone. Why did he want her to pack? Couldn't he see that this was not the time for running away?

He palmed his face with his hand and shook his head before he took a deep breath. He had to remind himself it wasn't right to yell at a pregnant woman, even if she was driving him crazy at the moment.

"Start packing because you are moving in till we help you figure everything out. I obviously can't watch over you from my home when you live four hours away from me. So I will drag you kicking and screaming back to our home town if I have to!" He stated with his hands on his hips. "So I can do my job properly from here on out. Now move that former pink spandex butt!" He said in his leader tone of voice that left no room for argument but considering who he was talking to didn't mean she wasn't going to try!

She looked at him as if he had just grown another head. He could see the anger burning in her eyes like twin flames. "What the hell give you the right to just show up and cart me off at your whim?" She yelled. "And if you think that just because you snap your fingers at me and speak in that tone that I'll let you order me without a fight then you have another thing coming?" She practically snarled at him.

But then he saw her look around at her apartment, and then back at him and he saw those small twin flames in her eyes suddenly flicker out. He could physically see all the fight just go out of her at that moment and knew that he was right to move her back with him. She suddenly sat down on the nearest piece of furniture which happened to be the coffee table. "Ok. It's in the closet at the end of the hall." She said slowly and then just put her head in her hands, as if it had become too heavy to hold up on its own.

This sudden surrender put the worst kind of chill down his spine. It was not in her nature to quit or to give up without a fight and that was just what she was doing right now. It was in that one fact alone that he knew that something was seriously wrong and that he was making the right choice. She couldn't be left alone.

They spent the next four and a half hours packing all her most important things up and bring them down to his car. It would have gone a lot faster if he had let her do her part on the heavy and not so heavy lifting but he was treating her like a fragile porcelain doll that would break at any moment if she moved wrong or tried to pick up too much at once. They would deal with the rest of her stuff and her furniture at a later point. As soon as they had the car as stuffed as they could get it, they locked up and left for his house.

* * *

2 Weeks Later

As the two women and baby were preparing to sit down for lunch in the kitchen, Kim was absent mindedly humming the melody to the song that she has started thinking of as her elevator song, to her nephew, as Trini prepared her son's lunch.

"I can't believe that out of all your songs that you wrote, you sang that one to him." Trini said as she walked over with the food.

"What? That was the song I was going to sing that day, or at least would have sung for them that day, so that was the song he asked to hear. I don't see what the big deal is?" Kim responded looking over at Trini.

Even though that last part wasn't exactly true, at least not anymore. Since the night she moved in she has been thinking on and off about the song and why she really did write it. It was one of the many very confused thoughts in her head along with the fact that for some unexplainable reason since the night she had arrived it has been stuck in her head. It was playing over and over as if on a loop. So much so that she had been caught humming it on several occasions now. It still confounded and frustrated her that he picked up on a meaning in the song that she never saw, or at least possibly never wanted to see. The fact that he had to point it out to her irked her a bit more though but not as much as the possibility that he just might be right about it.

"Yeah keep telling yourself that girl." Trini said as her gaze deliberately fell to Kim's mid-section. She was already starting to swell out and show off more than just a little that she was carrying a new life around inside her. Kim looked down to her noticeable belly then back at her friend and made a face at her. "Don't give me that look just because you're still in denial about a few things!" Trini remarked.

Just then they heard the front door open and close before a voice called out through the house. "Did she call him yet?" It was shortly followed by Jason's arrival in the kitchen.

It was nice that he had a job that was located close enough to the house that allowed him to come home every week day for lunch. Unfortunately, every day since she got there they have been badgering her to make the phone call to the baby's father to let him know that he actually going to be one.

"No, she hasn't yet. Our little pink is still acting yellow." Trini quipped to her husband.

Kim turned and faced her best friend. "Since when do you take his side on things?" She asked shooting daggers at Trini with her eyes. She didn't the fact that they were ganging up on her now.

"When he happens to be right about things and it does tend to happen every once in a while I agree with him." Trini answered with a smile. Prompting a geez thanks expression from her husband.

"What are you waiting for my niece or nephew's high school graduation?" Jason asked with his hands on his hips. "I'm telling you if you don't call him in the next few days I'm going to do it for you because he has the right to know! You know what family means to him and what having his own would mean." Jason stated in a slightly stern but matter of fact tone of voice.

The worst part was she knew that wasn't an idol threat, that Jason would really do it if she waited too long. She also knew that if Tommy heard it from anyone but her it would hurt him and cause more problems between them than anything else. Even after everything that had happened she couldn't do that to him. He still meant more too her than that.

"Alright, Alight! I'll make the freaking call already." She snapped as she reached for the cordless phone. Regardless of the reason she hated being bullied and pushed into doing somethings.

Jason recited off the number before she had a chance to get up and go looking for it. They were taking no chance of her chickening out in the other room which was a good move on their part because she probably would have chickened out in the other room.

The phone rang about three or four times before it was picked up and a very hasty greeting was given.

"Oh hey it's me, Kim. How have you been doing since we saw each other last? Sorry I haven't called until now but…" She rushed but was cut off by him.

"Sorry to cut you off, but as much as I would like to stop and talk with you. I'm late getting back to work from lunch so can I call you another time?" Tommy asked in a rush.

"Uh… sure that's not a problem. I just needed to tell you something really quick then I'll let you get back to your day." She said biting her lip wondering if this was the best time to tell him.

"Okay…" He said a bit unsure of what she could want to say that would be that important. It had been three months since they had spoken.

"Do you remember the day in the elevator about three months ago?" She asked him and she can hear that whatever he was doing while talking to her he stopped and gave her his full attention. It was a little daunting, but she had to do this.

After a momentary pause, he answered. "Yes that is one thing I do remember clearly, in fact I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for three months but what does that have to do with anything?" He asked.

"Well, it turns out that I ended up with a little souvenir of that day." She told him in a cryptic tone.

"Souvenir, I don't understand, Kimberly." He sighed. "Look I don't really have time for riddles right now like I said I'm in a bit of a hurry." He stated in a confused and a bit distracted tone.

Kim sighed in frustration. "Obviously this is something I'm going to have to show you. Is there any place that I could meet with you?" She asked just trying to get through this phone call. It was not going the way she thought it would.

"Saturday is my day off." He explained. "Why don't you come by my house for lunch? You can get the address from Jason."

"Okay, it's a date. Bye" She said before hanging up. Turning to her two friends, she saw the question in their eyes. "I'm going to meet at his house for lunch on Saturday." She informed them.

"Saturday, as in three days from now?" asked Jason.

"Yeah, I'm going to need you to give me the address." She said.

"Not a problem." Jason remarked as he walked over to the bar to grab a pen and piece of paper for Kimberly.

"Did he have any idea what you were talking about?" Trini asked walking over to Kimberly. She placed a hand on Kim's arm hoping to soothe her.

"No, he was in a bit of a rush. I don't think he was quite paying as close attention as he normally would. So I honestly think he doesn't have a clue what I just told him." Kim answered.

Jason finished writing down Tommy's address for Kimberly before he starts to chuckle a little. "Whoa, he is in for one heck of a shock Saturday!" He exclaimed as Trini and Kim rolled their eyes.

Kim was a little nervous about what Tommy would say once he noticed her belly. He might be clueless about almost everything but even he could, and would be able to tell there was something different about her.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: I have discovered that this is going to take more than 4 chapters to tell so I am now estimating about 5 maybe even 6 chapters._

The alarm clock went off early Saturday morning and he was seriously tempted to throw it against the wall. It wouldn't be the first one that he had thrown against the wall this year. Why had he set the blasted thing on his day off anyway? What had he been thinking last night? After a minute or two he remembered that Kim was coming over today and he needed to clean up before she got there. His house was a mess after the past week. There had been more ranger battles this week than normal so he really hadn't had time to do housework. There was also the fact that he didn't like doing housework to begin with so he didn't kill himself to get it done.

As his mind filled with thoughts of her any hold sleep still had on him vanished. His mind spun with questions as to why she had called now after three months had passed and not before. It just seemed like an odd time to want to see him but he would take it. As he tried to think back on the call she had made, he realized he couldn't quite remember what exactly had been said. He cursed himself and his poor memory in that moment. If he hadn't been in such a rush at that particular moment he would have paid closer attention to what she had been trying to say over the phone.

All he could remember was that it was important enough for her to want to actually see him and to see him as soon as possible. The word souvenir was stuck in his mind which confused the heck out of him because he couldn't remember the context for it but he could remember it being mentioned by her.

He would have the answers to all his questions in a few hours all he had to do is wait. Unfortunately for him waiting was never one of his strong suits and had improved very little over the years. This left him with the hours between then and now to puzzle out how he felt about all this and about her and what the future might hold for the both of them in general. As he got up to start his day he knew this was going to be one very long morning indeed. One thing was for sure, Kimberly would be in his home in only a few hours and it needed to be cleaned.

She looked out the window as the world flashed passed her. She had been such a nervous wreck this morning that both Jason and his wife had agreed that she was in no condition to safely make the 2 hour drive, which was why Jason was spending his day off driving her to her lunch date. Normally she would have felt embarrassed by the fact that Jason was driving her to see Tommy but today she was okay with it. She knew that she was in no condition to drive besides the fact that Jason had taken her keys from her this morning.

To top it all off the only outfit that she had left that even remotely fit her, that wasn't a form of sweat clothes, was a bubblegum pink sundress. Even this dress was a bit snug around her belly making her look bigger and farther along than she actually was at the current time. It also made her condition that much more obvious at a single glance. It defiantly wasn't made for her pregnant belly. She wore a vintage denim jacket that had a stone washed style and appearance to it that was a total throwback to the early 1990s.

The weather might have been warmer than normal for this time of year but she was now prone to periodic chills. This pregnancy was causing changes in her body that she hadn't counted on this early if at all.

The drive so far had been a silent one and she had been thankful for that since she had so much on her mind already. Sighing to herself she straightened her dress out and picked at a piece of lint before she heard Jason.

"Stop picking at yourself, you look beautiful. Everything is going to be fine." He stated before he smiled at her. "Don't worry so much you'll get wrinkles in your face. You've got the next eighteen years for that." He said but his jest fell completely flat as she didn't even crack a smile at him. "What's wrong?" He asked her as he glanced over at her just in time to see her turn her eyes back to the world outside her window. There was nothing special to actually hold her attention so he knew that she was still uncomfortable about seeing Tommy again. He couldn't blame her because this wasn't an ideal situation for Tommy and Kimberly.

"I look like I'm sixteen again and belong in one of those after school specials, the kind that preach about the dangers of not using birth control." She lamented. "And given the current circumstances I'm starting to feel like it too." She stated with a growl.

He chuckled a bit till he realized that she wasn't making a joke. "Is that what's really bothering you?" He asked her in a serious yet concerned tone. He didn't want to push her into this meeting with Tommy but he had to know that he was going to be a father.

After a few moments she finally responded. "No, not really, I'm just nervous." She said. "There are so many unknowns right now; so many what if's to worry about, it just really stressing me out." She sighed.

He sighed and then took one hand off the wheel so that he could hold one of hers. "You need to relax; too much stress is bad for both you and the baby. You're doing all you can right now, you are seeking the answers you need to move forward with your life." He said before squeezing her hand lightly in support. It was then that she gave him a slight half-hearted smile.

"You know this does feel a little like being sixteen again, with me driving you to see him. With the exception of we aren't part time superheroes anymore." He said in an attempt to make her genuinely smile.

After a few moments she did smile. "I can think of another, if this was the current situation at sixteen, there is no way in hell you would be this calm!" She exclaimed. "You would be racing over to his house in an attempt to rip him apart, for what he did to your little sister." She remarked.

She started to snicker a little and after a few minutes he did too. "True, but I would not be alone in the effort I think the rest of the guys would be accompanying me on that expedition." He retorted.

She started to giggle at that. "I can just imagine him having to fend you all off. It would be a battle for the ages." She said, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"That it would be," he said to her. "But you know how that would end don't you?" He asked her with a smirk.

"With him beating all of you off, and eventually into submission," She replied sweetly to his question all the while smirking as she did.

"As if! Like that could actually happen." He retorted in a slightly arrogant tone, the kind guys get when their manhood is called into question by a girl.

She looked at him in open mouthed astonishment for a second before responding. "You did not just go clueless on me!" She exclaimed. "I can't believe you even saw that movie let alone can quote it back to me." She said before she burst out laughing really hard at the thought of Jason watching that movie.

He couldn't help but relish the sound of her laughter. This was the first time since he brought her home with him that he had actually heard her laugh and at the moment it was the sweetest sound in the world to his ears.

"Trini made me watch it." He explained in his own defense not that it would help in any way in trying to detour Kimberly on the subject.

"Yeah, sure she did." Kim said in a heavily sarcastic, slightly disbelieving tone. She added a wink as well.

"Anyway, it would end up with all of us getting teleported to the principal's office so to speak and having to explain to our mentor why we had all suddenly turned on our leader." Jason said in hushed tones that had Kim groaning at the thought of appearing before Zordon with her pregnant belly.

"Oh man, that is one conversation I am glad I don't have to have." She remarked as she blushed a bit and hid her face in her hands for a moment in embarrassment. The images of her standing there with Zordon looking down at her were just getting worse and worse. "That would have been worse than telling either of our parents." She said quietly.

He laughed then. "That defiantly would have fried a few of alpha's circuits not to mention send you into another faint." He said turning onto the interstate that would take them to Reefside and Tommy.

"Totally!" Kim agreed thru giggles. She didn't even debate the fact that she would have fainted because she knew that she would have if Zordon had found out that she was having Tommy's baby while still in high school.

He looked over at her for a moment. "Now it really feels like old times, you just went valley girl on me." He laughed as she shook her head at his statement.

She slapped his arm lightly. "I did not!" She yelled.

He smiled and then decided to tease her some more. "You just did it again!" He pointed out.

"Did not!" She said then stuck her tongue out at him, which caused him to laugh at her antics. This is what he had been missing the past several weeks. This was the relationship that he had with Kimberly and one that he didn't intend to lose again.

Their playful banter and light hearted teasing continued throughout the rest of the drive.

Time flew by and before long they had arrived at her destination. She took a huge breath before turning to face him.

"Here we are." He stated as he parked the car and looked over at her.

"Why the heck does he live in the middle of nowhere?" She asked in an incredulous tone. Looking around, she didn't see another house. In fact all she could see was trees, miles and miles of trees.

"I have no idea. The man must value his privacy." He answered with a shrug. He was still clueless why Tommy had moved out here so he couldn't answer her question.

"Privacy," She muttered. "He lives in the middle of the frigging hundred acre woods. I wouldn't be surprised if Winnie the Pooh and Piglet came walking out from behind the house at any moment asking for some honey." She said exasperated.

Jason burst out laughing before saying anything. "I had the same thought the first time I saw it too."

As the moment passed Kim took a deep breath then asked suddenly nervous again. "You want to come in and say hi?" She asked hoping that she could borrow some of his strength for the moment.

"No, this is something you have to work out by yourselves. You don't need your big brother or anyone else but the man that lives here." He answered her in a warm but firm tone.

"You sure?" She asked. "Look what happened the last time we were alone." She pointed out looking down at her belly.

He smirked and shook his head a little before answering. "The house looks completely safe, so I doubt anything like that will happen again." He said before she narrowed her eyes at him while not saying a word. He laughed a little "Don't give me the stink eye! I'm just stating the facts. Those being that I don't see any near death experiences popping up to spur you guys into action again. Besides you're already knocked up so what more can happen other than the fact that you will actually communicate with him on a different level." He said. She swatted his arm a little harder than before.

"That was crude." She stated as he shrugged again.

He smiled rather smugly and then teased. "You hit like a girl. You know that right?" He asked.

"You want to see how dangerous this girl can be?" She asked him in response to his question.

"No not really. I already have a fairly good idea about that. So I know you're going to be here a few hours, so I'm going to head home." He informed her slowly. "When you are ready to leave give me a call and I'll come back to get you. If I don't hear from you then I'll take that as a really good sign." He said to her.

"A sign of what?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well either that things went really well and that he doesn't want to let you go, or that he holding you hostage till the baby is born to make sure you stay safe and out of any possible danger. I'm hoping for the first one." He answered then smirked "But to be honest I won't mind the second one either. At least I'll know that you and my little niece or nephew will be safe." He joked.

"Whatever!" She retorted. "I'll see you later." She said to him then shook her head. She opened the car door and grabbed her purse before getting out. She closed the door and waved to him before turning to face Tommy's house once more. She started to walk toward the front door of the house then stopped and turned to look behind her. She saw that the car had yet to move and that he was watching her from inside the car. Shaking her head at the sight, she saw him start to laugh at her.

"I can't believe he thinks I'm going to chicken out now. Where exactly does he think I'm going to go besides to the door?" She mused out loud to herself. Knocking on the door, she didn't hear the car start to pull away until the crush of gravel alerted her to his departure. Her heart was beating faster than was probably good for the baby but she wasn't turning back, not now.

Tommy was just finishing up straightening up his living room for the fifth time when he heard the knock on the door. It was a tentative knock so it could only be one person. At the sound he felt the butterflies in his stomach go wild. He had to take a deep breath to control himself. This was only Kimberly, a girl that he had dated for three years. His nerves were worse now than when he asked her out for the first time. All they were going to do was talk; this should be really easy for him. They were always good with talking to each other before so this should be no different. All this morning and since her phone call he had spent time thinking about her and what he felt. He thought what he wanted when it came to her and he had come to a sort of epiphany about it all about an hour ago. He wanted her in his life; now all he had to do was convince her of it.

With that thought paramount in his mind at the moment, he walked over and opened the door. He was not prepared for the sight before him. His eyes grew so wide from shock that they nearly popped out of his head! His knees buckled and he had to grab the door for support. Suddenly he understood why she called and the context of her usage of the word souvenir hit him square in the face.

"You're… You're… Am I… Are we…?" He stammered but couldn't quite manage a cohesive sentence. The shock was just too much for him. He walked off to the nearest piece of furniture which happened to be couch in his living room and sat down before doubling over to put his head in his hands. The love of his life was pregnant! PREGNANT!

Kim walked in and closed the door behind her with a sigh. She knew that this was going to be a shock to him. Walking over to him she sat down across from him on the coffee table. "I am, you are, we are." She said slowly in answer to his incomplete questions. Reaching out she gently placed her hand on his head in and odd and somewhat awkward sort of comforting gesture, softly rubbed her fingertips over his scalp. She had never seen him quite like this before and it unnerved her a bit. He had always been the one to keep a somewhat composed if not level head no matter how bad the situation got. He had always been a tower of strength so for this to rattle him like this it was huge and made her all the more nervous.

"Pregnant." He whispered as she kept rubbing his head.

"I had this same reaction when I found out. It's why I'm here now and not two weeks ago, when I found out." She explained. "It rocked my world to say the least."

"How?" He asked her without looking up. He closed his eyes and let her work her magic with her fingers.

"I think you know the answer to that; you took the same health class that I did back in high school." She smirked a little trying to lighten the heaviness of the moment. There was a lot of tension hanging between them that really needed to be cleared before they could really talk.

She drew her hand back as he looked up at her after her comment with a look on his face that said this was not a time for jokes. "How can you be so calm about this?" He asked her in a stunned tone. How could she joke at a time like this? His world was tilted on its axis and he couldn't see a way to turn it right.

"Oh, I'm not calm at all." She remarked. "It's just that I've had two weeks and lot of help to adjust to this. I needed to work up the courage to face you. I wasn't sure how you would react about this." She said as she looked away from him not able to face his gaze at the moment.

"Two weeks?" He asked as she held up her hand to him.

"Before you say anything else I just want you to know that I am not telling you this because I expect anything from you or want you to feel obligated in anyway." She said as he nodded. "Because I don't but you do at least have the right to know being the father and all and that I should be the one to tell you, no one else. So just keep in mind you can tell me to go if you want to and you'll never see or hear from us again." She said taking a breath. "We will get along just fine without you if need be." She stated while looking down at her hands.

She couldn't look at him while she said this or she wouldn't have the courage to get the words out. She needed him to know that he did have an out if he wanted it; if only for her own piece of mind and to ease her own conscience. It was the only way she thought she could ever know for sure if his choice was made out of some duty bound sense of obligation or because he really wanted to. It may have been cruel to test him this way but it was for the sake of her sanity to know that she wasn't wrecking his life with all this.

The room had gone silent and stayed that way for a long time. She took this long painful silence as an answer not the one she had hoped for but an answer all the same. Her eyes started to water as she stood up and started to walk towards the door. She had only taken about 2 or 3 steps when he reached out and grabbed her wrist. His fingers circled her wrist and pulled her back towards him.

"Don't go!" He pleaded standing up to face her. "I let you walk out on me once; I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. I don't want an out." He stated; his voice stronger now than a few minutes ago. "I want you and the chance to be a part of our child's life." He said with such strong conviction as he looked straight into her eyes with the most intense gaze she ever saw outside of battle. The rangers had called it his getting down to business stare and she was happy to see it.

"You really mean that?" She asked. Her eyes which had started to water when she thought she wasn't wanted, threatened to spill over now from the sincerity of his words.

"With all my heart," He responded as his own voice started to choke up from all the emotions coursing through his body.

At his answer the tears that had threatened to spill earlier flowed freely down her face as a large smile spread across it. She wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him tightly but before she could the moment was broken when a familiar chime suddenly filled the space between them. It could only mean one thing.

He saw her smile quickly vanish from her face as a look of shock filled her eyes. The shock was quickly replaced by anger as she looked up at him as if she could burn a hole right through him with her stare.

"Oh no; oh Hell No!" She screamed as she pulled out of his grip. "Like I don't have enough to worry about at the moment; I now have to worry if you're going survive long enough to actually see the baby be born as well." She shouted. "Or even worse someone trying to kidnap me and/or harm me and the baby to get to you." She ranted as she then started to bolt towards the door. "I can't deal with this right now." She said as he ran after her and grabbed her wrist again. She wasn't getting away from him that easy at least not until she let him explain.

"Kim, please don't leave! I can explain everything I swear, just not right now." He said. "Please just wait till I get back." He begged in a desperate tone, the look in his eyes pleading with her to stay.

"This better be on hell of an explanation." She warned in a heated and almost snarky tone.

As soon as he was convinced she wasn't going to leave him and that is grip on her wasn't the only thing keeping her in the house, he released his grasp on her wrist so he could answer his communicator. From the corner of his eye he saw her crossing her arms over her chest in a defiant manor. He cringed a little at the sight of this cause he knew that his Hart was pissed off at the moment. This would not be a good night for him to say the least.

"Yes Hayley." He said raising his wrist to his mouth.

"_You need to get to the basement right now." _Hayley stated loud and clear. She was probably driving as fast as she could to his house. She had computers and alarms set up at her café but they were not as powerful as his downstairs.

"I'll be right down there." Tommy said before reaching for Kim's hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked trying to pull away but his grip was not allowing any leeway.

"You're coming with me because I don't trust you not to run away while I see what's going." He said pulling her through the living room to the kitchen. He turned the dinosaur as the trap door sprung open to reveal a hidden staircase.

"What is this, your bat cave?" She asked as he led her down the stairs and into the basement.

"Something like that." He muttered walking over to the computer. He sat down still holding Kim's wrist.

"I think you can let me go." She remarked as he looked up at her. "I'll stay since you have my interest with all of this." She stated waving her hand around the room.

"Okay I'll trust you this once." He warned as she sighed but he did release her wrist and started typing away. He pulled up video from Reefside until he finally found what he assumed Hayley had.

"They are even uglier than the ones we fought." She remarked looking at the monster closely.

"You should see the one in charge." He muttered while contacting the Dino Rangers.

"I thought that this place was supposed to be a secret." A woman's voice said behind them. "But I guess you're giving tours to now." The woman said as Kimberly spun around to see who it was. Since Tommy didn't turn, Kim knew that he knew who this red-headed woman was. Jealously very rarely hit Kimberly but it was slapping her in the face at this moment. Who was this woman and why did she know that Tommy was part of the Power Rangers?

"Hayley, it is fine." Tommy stated finally standing up next to Kimberly. "This is Kimberly; you've heard me talk about her." He said as Hayley's eyes rounded over the sight of Kimberly's belly.

"Kimberly, yeah I've heard mention her before." She said before walking around them to the computer. "I assume that you've contact the rangers." She said sitting down.

"Yea they should be on their way." He answered as Hayley nodded and got to work on finding out how to defeat the monster.

Kim was still stunned over the fact that this woman knew about the Power Rangers. She obviously wasn't one since she had contacted Tommy. So what was she doing here?

"Dr. O, what's up?" A voice asked behind Kimberly.

"Yea I have practice like now." Another voice said Kim turned again and came face to face with three teenagers.

"There is a monster attacking Reefside." Tommy replied. "It is downtown destroying building, you will need to get there and stop it." He informed them.

"Do you have something to tell us?" The boy in blue asked. Kim knew which rangers they were just by the color clothes that they were wearing. Apparently there were only three rangers; red, blue, and yellow.

"No, now let's go." Tommy said as the teens nodded.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up! Ha!" Tommy and the teens shouted. Kimberly couldn't believe it. Tommy was actually a ranger. He didn't just work with them but he was one! Tommy Oliver was the Black Ranger!

"Please stay here and wait for me." He said placing his gloved hand on Kimberly's cheek before jumping on the black ATV to the left of them.

"You better come back!" She shouted as the rangers disappeared only to reappear on screen.

"I'm guessing that you didn't know that he was a ranger again." Hayley mused without looking around.

"No, I didn't but then again I did sort of surprise him today with some news so we're even." She stated.

"The baby's his." Hayley commented. It wasn't really a question but then again it was probably better than way.

"Yea," Kim replied as she watched the battle raged on. It didn't look like Tommy had lost a step. He was keeping up with the younger rangers with no trouble at all.

"I'm guessing that you two hooked up about 3 months ago." She remarked as the monster grew and the rangers had to call on their zords. Some things just never changed in the ranger world.

"Yes exactly 3 months." Kim said feeling the accusations flying around the room from Hayley. She could tell the woman was not happy but she wasn't saying anything. Tommy would be the one to get those accusations, she guessed and it would be when she wasn't around.

The monster was finally destroyed by one slice of the sword and it was only a matter of minutes before the rangers and Tommy showed back up and powered down.

"So is anyone going to introduce us to the pregnant lady?" The boy in red asked.

"Connor!" The girl in yellow groaned as she slapped the back of his head.

"What? Being a ranger is supposed to be a secret and she just watched all of us morph. She could spill the beans to Cassidy or someone more important in the news world." The boy said again.

"Okay this is Kimberly, my, uh…"Tommy paused as he looked at Kimberly before back to the teens. Hayley had even turned around to see how Tommy would describe Kimberly Hart to the teens.

"Baby mama?" The boy in red asked as the girl and boy in blue both groaned.

"Yes but she is more than that." Tommy muttered. "She is very important to me and a very big part of my life." He said.

"Okay that didn't make any sense." The boy in blue said as Kim giggled.

"Let's just say that we are working on what she is to me." Tommy stated. "Anyway Kimberly these are the Dinos; Connor in red, Ethan in blue, and Kira in yellow." He said pointing to each of them.

"Nice to meet all of you," Kim said.

"Wait, Kimberly?" Kira asked as Kim nodded. "You're the Original Pink Ranger!" She screamed and everyone slammed their hands against their ears to block the noise.

"Whoa, Kira we've asked you not to use your powers." Ethan said removing his hands along with everyone else.

"Sorry." Kira said. "But this is so awesome; I can't believe that I am standing in front of the Original Pink Ranger. I mean I watched Dr. O's video but it's surreal to have you standing here." She explained.

"Video?" Kim asked looking up at Tommy.

"I'll tell you about it later." He promised as she nodded. "Anyway yes Kimberly is the first Pink Ranger and yes she is having my baby." He explained. "Now the two of us are going to go upstairs and talk. You three can leave and finished your assignment before tomorrow." He said as they nodded. "Hayley, if you need to run scans, that's fine but please do not disturb me unless it's a major crisis." He said as she nodded. "Ready?" He asked looking back at Kimberly.

"Yes." She said as he reached out his hand to her. She took it willingly and let him lead her back upstairs and into his living room.

"She is hot." Connor said as Kira slapped him once again.

"Dude, she is Dr. O's whatever so I would suggest if you want to live to leave her alone." Ethan stated.

"I'm with Ethan on this one." Kira remarked. "Did you see the way he looked at her, oh and the way he touched her before the battle?" She asked as the boys just looked at her. "They are so in love." She commented as Connor and Ethan rolled their eyes and Hayley sat back down at the computer. She had a few more scans but then she would leave. She really didn't want to be here while they hashed out their future.

"Okay let's go work on the assignment." Ethan said as they teens left out the back door so that they didn't disturb Dr. O and his baby momma.

XXXX

Kim sat down on the couch and rubbed her belly while she watched Tommy pace.

"Are you alright?" He asked when he noticed her action. He hoped that she was in good health because he didn't want her to suffer just because she was pregnant with their baby.

"Yea I'm fine. The baby is just moving around a little more right now." She replied.

"Do you know what the sex is?" He asked sitting down beside her. He knew next to nothing about pregnancy or babies which meant that he was going to have to ask lots of questions in the coming months. He would also be reading all that he could to help make Kim's pregnancy easy.

"No, it's too early to tell." She replied. "Actually I can barely feel the baby move, it's more like fluttering." She explained rubbing her belly some more.

"Like wings?" He asked placing his hand on her belly to see if he could feel anything.

"Yes but more butterfly wings than bird." She whispered looking down at his large hand on her small round belly. She couldn't wait to get bigger and have his hand on her belly when their child really started kicking. "Anyway we really need to talk." She said breaking the mood.

"I know but I do owe you an explanation about the black spandex first." He said as she nodded. "Okay well a few years ago I was doing research on Mercer Island for my doctorate." He stated before stopping to gather his thoughts.

"Mercer Island? Wasn't that the island that exploded?" She asked looking very concerned.

"Yea," He replied taking his hand off her belly to rub the back of his neck. "It actually exploded while I was on it." He muttered. "Anyway while I was there part of my research was dinosaur DNA and how to use it. I created those things that we had to fight today." He said rushing past the fact that he had been on the island when it exploded.

"You mean the things that are the equivalent to the putties and tangas?" She asked not sure if she liked the fact that Tommy had created something that was being used for evil.

"Yea but they were never supposed to be used for evil." He said reading the worry in her eyes. "I also found the gems that power up their morphers." He said leaning back against the couch.

"Did you pick them like Zordon picked us?" She asked settling back against the couch to get more comfortable. She could just tell that this was going to be a long conversation which was fine with her. It gave her time to think about what they would do next with their lives and their baby.

"No, the gems did that. The gems bonded with their DNA and gave them powers so I gave them the morphers." He said. "I mean they needed the protection that morphing provides." He explained as she nodded.

"So the black gem is bonded with you?" She asked looked concerned again.

"Yea and before you ask my power is invisibility." He said with a smile.

"Really?" She asked as he nodded. "That must be a dream for you. Now you can sneak into the girls' locker room without getting caught." She teased as he shook his head.

"Anyway besides being a ranger, I am the teacher at Reefside High School." He said. "I'm not involved with Hayley." He supplied adding that little fact on.

"Did I ask?" She asked wondering why he would tell her that at that moment.

"No but I felt the look in your eyes when she came in." He replied remembering the anger and hurt that he had felt in her movements.

"You felt the look in my eyes?" She asked as he nodded. "How?" She asked.

"Let's just say I know my baby momma very well when it comes to other women around me." He said as she rolled her eyes at the baby momma comment. "Okay we need to talk about what we do next."

"Well I know that I'm at Jason and Trini's house until after the baby is born." She replied. "He sort of kidnapped me." She muttered thinking about how weak she had been two weeks ago when Jason had come to get her. She was thankful that he had taken charge though because at that moment, she wasn't sure that she could make any decisions for herself or the baby.

"I'm sure it took a lot of force." He remarked. "I want to get married so that our baby is not born out of wedlock." He told her calmly.

Kim counted to five before even speaking. "Out of wedlock? Tommy we are not in the olden days where that actually matters. This is the 21st century." She stated. "There are sperm banks for crying out loud." She remarked throwing her hands up in the air. They could not just get married because they were expecting a baby. She would not put her child through that.

"I want to marry you though." He stated again. It was the perfect solution to him and he wondered why she was against marriage to him. They had talked about getting married years ago and he knew that her opinion on marriage hadn't changed that much.

"Because of the baby?" She asked as he nodded. "Then no, that is not a good enough reason to get married." She stated thinking of her parents' marriage.

"Wanting to be with me is not enough?" He asked standing up to pace in front of her.

"I can be with you without being married." She remarked. "I mean look at all those Hollywood couples that date, have babies, and never get married."

"So what, you're going to have this baby and cut me out of its life?" He asked sounding hurt. "You don't want me to be the baby's father or your husband?" He asked.

"No, I'm not saying that." She replied remaining calm for the baby. "I just don't want to marry you just because of the baby." She said rubbing her belly again. "My parents did that and look how they ended up. I mean those two can't stand to be in the same room together. Oh and let's not forget all the fights that I had to listen to growing up because they had gotten married for the wrong reasons." She said crossing her arms over her belly.

"Look we are not your parents." Tommy stated. "We will not end up like them."

"Do you have a crystal ball that can guarantee that, because I don't." She remarked.

"I just know okay." He said. "I love you more than your father apparently loved your mother. We will not get a divorce or even start fighting because we got married to provide our baby with a two parent family." He stated.

"I just don't want to chance it right now." She said as she wiped away a tear that had threatened to roll down her cheek.

"Oh Kimberly," He mumbled as he sat back down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I love you." He muttered into her hair.

"I love you too but we have changed since high school. We need time. I need time." She mumbled against his chest but pulling back to look up at him.

"So what do you suggest we do?" He asked trying to remain calm.

"I don't know." She answered truthfully as he stood up to pace again. She knew that this conversation was wearing him thin because he never paced unless something was really bothering him.

"How about you move in here? I mean I don't want to drive 4 hours there and back just to see you. This way I can take you back and forth to your doctor's appointments and I can watch over you." He said kneeling down in front of her.

"Okay I'll move in here but just on a temporary basis." She said taking some of the sparkle out of his eyes.

"Temporary? Like you are going to stay a night then move back to Jason's in the morning?" He asked jumping back up.

"No, temporary as in we try this out and see how it goes." She replied. "Separate bedrooms, of course," She stated in case he got any ideas.

"Don't think that you can keep your hands off of me?" He asked winking at her.

"Oh yea that's it." She muttered even as she wondered if that was part of the reason why she had suggested separate rooms. Apparently she couldn't really resist Tommy considering the reason that they were pregnant was because of her loss of control in an elevator.

"We are going to make this work." He said kneeling in front of her again. This time he took her hands in his. "I promise that we will not be like your parents." He said kissing her hands softly. "This baby is only going to know love from its parents." He whispered against her belly. She felt his lips touched her belly through her shirt. Their baby decided that it liked being kissed because she felt the fluttering again. She couldn't fault their baby because she liked being kissed by Tommy as well.

"Oh Tommy," She whispered leaning over to kiss his cheek before pulling back to watch him get up and sit down beside her.

"Well since we have resolved the living situation for the moment, are you hungry?" He asked as her stomach growled. "I'll take that as a yes." He said with a smile.

"Well duh, I'm pregnant. I'm always hungry; in fact I think that I eat more food than Rocky does now." She said with a smile of her own. "Come on, you need to feed me and your child. Oh and I need to go shopping because this is the only thing that I can still wear besides sweats." She stated as she stood up. It took her a little more time to get up than it had before but thankfully she could still get up on her own for the moment. She really wasn't looking forward to the months where she would need help getting up.

"Shopping? Are you sure that that is a good idea in your condition?" He asked standing up beside her. Shopping with Kimberly did not sound like a good way to spend his Saturday.

"Well it's a must and since I am in this condition because of you, you have to take me." She said as he laughed. She did have a point there.

"Fine I will feed you and take you shopping. I will even hold your bags for you." He said grabbing his keys. "Now let's go and feed my baby." He said ushering her out of the house.

XXXX

"You do realize that I am holding twenty bags at this point." Tommy stated as Kim grabbed some more shirts and pants.

"You do realize that I have no clothes." She smirked as she walked over to the bra department.

"Okay now I know that you are torturing me." He muttered as she smiled. She remembered that he never liked to be in this section with her because he said she was teasing him with what she bought because he never got to see her model it.

"Trust me this shouldn't torture you since it will not be sexy underwear that I am buying." She said looking at some 18-hour support bra that claimed to hold up to the longest day. She would miss all her fancy bras in the coming months but the baby books said that it was better to have supportive underwear.

"Anything that is worn under your clothes is sexy." He whispered into her ear as she shivered at his comment. He did always know how to make her feel sexy, no matter what she wore.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Tommy?" She whispered back turning to look at him.

"I'm the real Tommy just grown up and not in high school anymore." He replied as she nodded. "I'm also not afraid to flirt with the mother of my child in a department store." He said as she had to take a deep breath.

"Okay well since this is not a good topic of conversation in the middle of the store, tell me about whatever happened to the job interview." She said as he sighed.

"Spoilsport," He muttered as she smiled. "Anyway I never rescheduled my appointment. I guess I just saw it as fate stepping in and telling me that it wasn't for me." He answered.

"Oh." She said turning away from him to walk to over to the checkout. She hoped that she had everything that she would need.

"What about you?" He asked as he handed his card over to the cashier.

"No you don't have to pay." She protested even though she wasn't sure why she bothered since he had paid for everything else already.

"I've got this." He said as Kim sighed and backed off. This was not the time or place to argue over him paying for her stuff even though she would like to. Once they finished up, they made their way out to his Jeep and got in. "So what happened with the record company?" He asked cranking the vehicle.

"Well I went back a few weeks later to sing that song to them. They told me that while it was a great song it just wasn't what they were looking for at this time. They wanted a more bubblegum image for a new artist." She replied. "They told me that they would call if they heard of anyone wanting someone with my sound."

"You know I think that you were right about divine intervention." He stated.

"What?" She asked not really remembering what she had said that morning.

"You had said that nothing short of divine intervention would keep you from that interview. Apparently divine intervention wanted us to meet again in that elevator." He said. "I think some higher power is telling us that we belong together."

"Could be," She mused as she thought about what Tommy had said. They made it to his house a few minutes later but she was still thinking about what Tommy had said. Divine intervention had a lot of explaining to do if this ended badly for her, Tommy, and their baby.

XXXX

Once they got back home that night, Tommy helped Kimberly to bed and came back out in the living room to Hayley sitting on his couch. She had her own key so it didn't really freak him out that she was in his house. He also knew that she had questions that she wanted answers too.

"We need to talk." She stated as he sighed. He knew that he did owe her an explanation because she knew about the breakup with Kimberly but not their reunion. She had been the one to listen to him moan about how Kimberly broke his heart in high school.

"Let's go outside, I don't want to wake Kimberly." He said as she nodded and stood up. He followed her outside and shut the door because he had a feeling that this might get loud and he didn't want to alarm Kimberly if there was shouting. She and the baby needed lots of rest.

"She's exactly like you described her." She said sitting down on the porch steps.

"I guess." He muttered wondering when Hayley would just spit it out.

"You guess? Tommy, did you forget that she broke your heart in a letter?" She asked trying to stay calm.

Tommy sighed and walked down the steps to the yard. "I remember; she did send it to me." He remarked.

"Just making sure that you remembered that fact since you have invited her to live with you," She said.

"Hayley, there is something that I haven't told you yet." He said looking down at her. "You remember that job interview that I missed three months ago?" He asked rubbing his neck.

"The one that you missed because you were trapped in the elevator?" She asked wondering where he was going with this. What did a missed meeting have to do with Kimberly?

"Well I wasn't alone in that elevator." He supplied. "Kimberly happened to be in there with me."

"What?" She asked jumping up. "Why are you just now telling me this?" She yelled very hurt by the fact that Tommy had kept that from her. They were supposed to be friends.

"I don't know." He said scratching his head. "I guess that I didn't want to have this conversation."

"You were trapped 3 months ago." She said as he nodded. "So I take it that you did more than talk in that elevator." She mused as he closed his eyes. "I'm right, aren't I?" She asked remembering Kimberly's belly.

"Yes and yes the baby is mine." He replied as she nodded. She already knew that the baby was Tommy's considering Kimberly had confirmed that earlier. "She found out two weeks ago that she was pregnant." He informed her.

"So she didn't tell you for two weeks?" She asked as he groaned. He loved Hayley like a sister but he had forgotten how protective she was over him.

"She was at Jason and Trini's house dealing with the fact that she had gotten pregnant in an elevator." He explained. "Please cut her some slack." He pleaded.

"Why should I? She broke your heart." She said throwing her hands up in the air. She was so frustrated with him because she remembered the pain that had been in his eyes when he had told her about his first love.

"Hayley," He sighed. "I love her." He said simply. "I love her and I love our baby. I want this chance with her." He stated walking over to her. "Please don't make this harder on me than it already is." He pleaded again as she sighed. He was almost begging her to give Kimberly a second chance and she wondered if she could say no.

Hayley stared at Tommy and saw the light in his eyes. The moon was reflecting off of him with perfect clarity. She could feel his passion and knew that this was right for him. Kimberly was right for him. "Okay." She whispered finally giving in. "How can I help you?" She asked wondering if there was a way to help him.

"Brainwash her into marrying me." He suggested as she laughed.

"I'm serious." She stated.

"Me too," He said. "She says that she doesn't want to have a marriage like her parents. She doesn't want to put our baby through that pain." He explained.

"Well she has a valid point." She mused. "Getting married just because you knocked her up isn't the best situation; you would drift apart and resent each other after a couple of years."

"Thanks for being on my side." He muttered.

"Oh I'm on your side, but I also see her point." She stated crossing her arms. "Anyway I can see that she loves you. Really why else would the two of you jump each other in an elevator during an earthquake?" She asked as he shook his head at her comment. "Normal people would have at least waited until they got back home." She mused.

"Haven't you ever heard of a near death experience that makes you just want to experience life?" He asked.

"Tommy, you face death on a daily basis as a freaking Power Ranger so do not throw that crap at me." She remarked. "You saw your chance and you took it without thought or explanation."

"Whatever, anyway I need to get back inside and check on Kimberly." He said.

"Are you two sharing a bed?" She asked wondering how that would work for the two of them.

"No." He replied. "She wants separate bedrooms since this living arrangement is temporary at the moment." He growled.

"I must say I'm impressed with her." She said with a laugh. "Why or should I even ask because in the end all the girls stick together against the male species," He said.

"Of course we stick together in out men haters' club but I'm impressed with her because she is standing her ground against you. She is not letting you walk all over her to get what you want." She said. "Don't worry, I'm sure that given time you will make her see that you love her and that nothing will tear you apart." She said before hugging him.

"Thanks Hayley." He whispered hugging her back.

"Now, I'm gone and I'll see you tomorrow." She said before walking away from him toward her car. Tommy waved before walking back inside. As he locked up the house, he thought about how his life had changed in only the space of a day. He wasn't scared because the last time that his life had changed so drastically was the day he became the Evil Green Ranger and it had led to Kimberly. The baby would be a change but he was ready for that step. He was ready to step into the unknown with Kimberly and the life that they had created in that elevator.

XXXX

As the weeks progressed, Kim settled into Tommy's house with ease. They had talked more in the past weeks than they had in the past several years. She actually talked to Hayley as well and got to know her. Tommy and Hayley had met in college and had become friends. Hayley was also the one to help Tommy with the Command Center in his basement and the morphers. Hayley was like Tommy's personal Billy but she also ran the Cybercafé which reminded Kim of the Youth Center on steroids. Hayley was also proving to be a great ally against Tommy when he was overbearing.

Tommy's life had certainly changed in some ways but in others he was exactly the same. In fact it was just like they were back in high school when he had to sneak away to take care of a monster. The big difference was that she wasn't with him for those battles. She just wished that she was back in spandex as well to help him. She knew that this was hard for him because he was worried about leaving her alone.

He had gotten it in his head that this Mesogogg creature would pull something and captured her. So in true Tommy fashion, he asked Hayley to build something that would send off an alert if anything evil came near her. Hayley had of course agreed to do and got to work that day on it. Kim really thought that Hayley took it as a challenge to build this alarm thing but she had to admit the necklace was really pretty. Hayley had apparently forged the metal herself for the pendant and placed a pink stone in the middle.

She remembered the day that Tommy had given it to her. He had led her downstairs slowly claiming that he had something for her. A small part of her thought that maybe it was a ring but she quickly banished that thought. Tommy wouldn't propose to her yet or at least she hoped he wouldn't She didn't want to break his heart when she told him no. Thankfully; though it hadn't been a ring but a necklace that had taken her breath away until she learned the true nature of the 'gift'.

"It's beautiful." She breathed as he laughed.

"I'll make sure to tell Hayley that you like her work." He stated as he unhooked the necklace and walked around to her back. "Let me see how this looks on you." He said as she nodded and pulled up her hair for him to put it on her.

"Hayley made this?" She asked as he placed it around her neck. Hayley did great work.

"Yea, remember we talked about her making a device that would let us know if anyone evil is near you." He said spinning her to look at the necklace. "It looks very real to me." He said as she sighed.

"You mean to tell me that the first piece of jewelry that you give me is a tracker?" She asked.

"Yea, Kimberly we talked about you wearing one. I asked Hayley to make it look normal." He explained.

"She did an excellent job." She muttered as he explained how it would work.

It would send a signal to Hayley, Tommy, and the Command Center if anyone or anything evil came within 500 feet of Kimberly. She personally felt that it was just too much but she wore it for Tommy's peace of mind and the fact that it was really pretty.

Getting up, Kim walked downstairs slowly making sure to hold onto the rail. Tommy had already cautioned her to take it easy because he didn't want her tumbling down the steps hurting herself and the baby. She knew that Tommy had always been protective but she hadn't realized just how bad he would be while she was carrying their baby. This was going to be a long few months but thankfully she had the others to help her keep Tommy reined in for the most part. She would have to start telling everyone that she was pregnant because clothes only hid so much and she was past that stage already.

"Kimberly, what are you doing down here?" Hayley asked as soon as Kim finally made it downstairs.

"Well just wanted to see what you were working on." She replied as she walked over to the chair next to Hayley. Tommy had placed it down here when he realized that she sat down here with Hayley during the battles.

"I'm trying to pinpoint the White Ranger." Hayley answered without looking at her. Kim had gotten to use to the fact that Hayley rarely looked away from the computer while she was working on something.

"He's evil isn't he?" Kim asked sitting down.

"How did you know?" Hayley asked but this time she did look away from the computer to Kimberly.

"Tommy." She stated simply.

"I didn't think he was going to tell you." Hayley remarked as Kim shook her head.

"No he didn't tell me, which is something that I will talk to him about later," She muttered. "I just knew by the way he was acting. He gets this look in his eyes when it's something to do with being evil. I can't really describe it."

"I know the look." Hayley said quietly. "I'm surprised that he let you see it through."

"Well it's kind of hard to hide." Kim said as Hayley nodded. "Anyway he's also been acting guilty every time he comes home from a battle. Apparently he had a chance to turn the ranger from evil but it didn't work."

"Well not really but Tommy feels that he did. The guy is bad news and it has to do with the fact that the gem was exposed to evil before bonding with the ranger." Hayley explained.

"So Mesogogg wanted an evil ranger to battle Tommy and the Dinos." Kim mused thinking about when Rita had chosen her evil ranger to fight them. It hadn't been easy to fight Tommy since he seemed to know their every move and would use it against them.

"Yea but it's not turning out like Mesogogg wanted." She remarked.

"How do you know?" Kim asked wondering how Hayley could possibly know that fact.

"Well the ranger is a law unto himself. He doesn't follow Elsa or Zeltrax when they are in battle with him." Hayley replied. "He is acting alone for the most part which makes the situation that much more dangerous for Tommy and the Dinos."

"Where is Tommy?" Kim asked looking at the computer. "I thought that he would be here by now."

"He's gone to confront the White Ranger." Hayley said slowly. Tommy had told her not to tell but she wasn't doing that to Kimberly. She knew that Kimberly could handle this since she had been the first Pink Ranger.

"He did what?" Kim yelled as Hayley rethought her opinion. Tommy might have been right about not telling Kimberly.

"Don't worry; I have Ethan on his way there." Hayley explained hoping that Kimberly didn't get too stressed out over this. She didn't need to leave the Command Center to rush Kimberly to the hospital.

"Ethan? What's he going to do? I mean why not send Jason or Rocky or one of the other guys?" Kim asked standing up.

"Because Ethan has powers while everyone you mentioned do not." Hayley explained calmly. "Please sit down; you do not want to get upset. It's not good for you or the baby." She said trying to calm Kimberly down.

"Calm down? Really? The father of my child is facing an Evil White Ranger while just one of the other rangers is going to be his backup. What about Connor and Kira? What are they doing that they can't join them?" She yelled as Hayley sighed. This wasn't going as she thought it would.

"Connor and Kira are checking out on of the dino eggs that Tommy found before leaving." She explained. "Now please sit down." She said as the alarm sounded off.

"What's going on?" Kim asked as they both looked at the computer screen.

"I'm not sure." Hayley said as she tried to bring up pictures of the warehouse where Tommy was meeting the White Ranger.

"_Hayley, we have a problem." _Ethan's voice stated as Kim sat back down. She just knew that this was about Tommy.

"What's wrong, Ethan?" Hayley asked praying that he wouldn't say that Tommy was captured or worse, dead.

"_Dr. O has been encased in amber." _He stated as Kim's face went pale.

"Okay I'll send Connor and Kira to you so that you three can get him back here." She said before grabbing Kim's hands. "Please take a breath; I will get him out of that amber. I just need to see him." She stated as Kim closed her eyes.

"Hayley, I can't lose him." Kim whispered as Hayley pulled her in her arms and tried to comfort her.

"You are not going to lose him." Hayley promised. "Now I need to contact Connor and Kira for them to help Ethan." She said as Kim nodded. "I think you need to call Jason. He needs to be here with you."

"Okay." Kim whispered as she stood up and walked slowly back upstairs to grab her cellphone. This was not happening; it just could not be happening. Tommy could not die on her and their child. He just couldn't leave them like this, not when she was beginning to picture their life together as a married couple.

Hayley held back tears as she contacted Connor and Kira to get to Ethan's location. She didn't know if she could help Tommy or not but she knew that she would try anything and everything to crack the amber around Tommy if only to help Tommy and Kimberly stay together.

XXXX

Kim stood in front of Tommy who was still in amber even hours later. Hayley had tried everything she could before finally calling it quits to go home and get some sleep. Kim had tried to call Jason but he wasn't answering his phone so after the third call she just left him a voicemail. She had made sure that she kept her voice calm so that he wouldn't panic when he heard her voice. It had been hard though since she wanted to rail against someone for Tommy's condition.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the basement but saw nothing that she could use to break Tommy out. This wasn't fair. He wasn't supposed to get hurt! He was a Power Ranger for crying out loud, nothing was supposed to happen to him.

"YOU PROMISED ME!" She screamed as she started beating the amber. "You promised that you wouldn't get hurt!" She yelled as she beat it even harder. "How am I supposed to take care of this baby by myself? You said that we were in this together." She screamed as she beat even harder against the amber, not feeling anything but the searing pain in her chest. "I TRUSTED YOU!" She shouted as the tears spilled down her cheeks but she didn't even feel them. "You said that you would not get hurt but you had to storm in that warehouse by yourself. How is that being part of a team?" She growled. "You are a FREAKING POWER RANGER which means that you are part of a team!" She shouted. "You never thought about how this would affect me or our baby? Did you?" She yelled swinging her fist even harder.

Jason had walked into Tommy's house trying to find Kimberly. He had panicked when he seen all the missed called from Kimberly then listened to her voicemail. Her voice had been calm but he heard the tone and knew that she was barely holding it together. Shutting the door, he heard her screaming downstairs.

"What good are you to me when you are the World's largest paperweight?" She shouted. "Are you going to watch your family from inside this amber?" She cried. "I don't think that you can drive me to the doctor now."

"Oh Kimberly," He muttered as he rushed downstairs to see his brave little sister beating what looked like a slab of amber. He knew that Tommy was in here and by the way that Kimberly was acting she had finally snapped. He rushed to her side and slid and arm around her waist to pull her away. He really hadn't counted on her fighting him to stay near to Tommy though.

"Stop it." She screamed as she beat on the amber more while still yelling at Tommy. "We need you! I NEED YOU!" She screamed as Jason finally pulled her away from Tommy.

"Kimberly." He stated trying to break through her mind. Once she was out of striking range, she crumbled in his arms. He looked down her hands then and almost cried. Her hands were bruised and bleeding pretty badly. Several knuckles were busted open like she had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson along with what looked like a finger nails ripped off. He wasn't sure how long she had beat the amber but apparently it had been more than few minutes before he made it down her.

"He promised that he would be alright." She cried as Jason looked back at the amber encased Tommy.

"I know he did." He muttered but he was pretty sure that Kimberly hadn't heard him.

Shaking his head, he scooped her up higher into his arms and walked back upstairs with her. He walked down the hall and into Tommy's bedroom. He knew that they were not sharing a room but she would find comfort in his bed.

He laid her down before disappearing into Tommy's bathroom. Coming back out, he sat down beside her with the first aid kit and a wet wash cloth. He wished that he had gotten here sooner that way at least her hands wouldn't be this bloody. Taking the wet cloth, he very gently wiped away the blood as she whimpered. "You knew better than to be hitting on that amber." He muttered.

"Had to try to break him out," She mumbled sadly. He wasn't sure if he had ever heard her this broken before.

"Not with your fists." He said as he finished wiping all the blood off her hands and knuckles. He then took out the antibiotic cream and make sure to cover all the scraps before he wrapped her hands in gauze. "Your hands will be sore in the morning." He stated as she nodded. "Now please get some sleep." He whispered kissing her forehead but standing up with his stuff.

"Thanks Jason." She mumbled as he closed the door. He didn't move though only leaned against the door as he thought about how the others would react when they got here. They would come too because they were more family than friends and at this moment Kimberly needed her family surrounding her.

XXXX

Unbeknown to Jason, eyes had followed him upstairs that had wanted to cry right along with Kimberly. Tommy's body was the only thing trapped in the amber. He had seen every strike of Kim's fist and every word that she had shouted. His heart felt every swing even if his body didn't. It was heartbreaking to stand there and do nothing but he couldn't move let alone break out of this prison. The White Ranger had made sure that Tommy couldn't do anything from the inside of the amber. He just hoped that Hayley could find a way to get him out.

Kim had been right; he had asked her to trust him that he would be safe. He had gone off without backup because he thought that he could reach the Evil Ranger like Jason had once done with him. There was one thing that he had forgotten; Jason had the other rangers with him when they had broken the spell over him. He had let her down in more ways than one and he wasn't sure if she could ever forgive him. It had been a good thing that she had agreed not to marry him. He could see that now even though it broke his heart all over again. He was only destined to break her heart and leave her broken beyond repair.


	5. Chapter 5

Jason rubbed his face as he set his cell phone down. He had called everyone that he could think of while Trini made her way over to Tommy's house with food for him and Kimberly. He hadn't heard from her in a while but he knew that she was still sleeping. This was harder than he thought it would but he knew that Kim needed their friends surrounding her while Hayley worked on getting Tommy out of that amber.

Hayley had shown up about 10 minutes ago to work some more on Tommy. They had exchanged a few words before she left him standing in the living room. He had seen the strain around her eyes and mouth. She wasn't taking this well but at least she hadn't broken down like Kimberly had.

Closing his eyes, he thought back to the phone call he had had with Kimberly the night she had told Tommy about the baby. It had been such a happy and joyful phone call and he wanted that for her again. His eyes popped open when the front door opened.

"How is she?" Trini asked as soon as she walked through the door with several bags in her arms. He saw that she didn't have their son so he knew that she had dropped him off at her parents' house. Thankfully her parents wanted any chance they could get to watch their only grandchild.

"Here let me help you." He said rushing to her side and taking the bags from her before walking into the kitchen.  
"Thanks, I didn't know what Tommy had to eat so I grab a little of everything." She stated as he nodded and started unpacking the bags.

"Kim is sleeping in answer to your question but she is not good. I found her beating the amber encased Tommy." He said as he put the items away. "In fact I had to pull her away from it before she crumbled in my arms." He stated as Trini started crying before pulling her husband into her arms. "Trini, I don't know if I am strong enough for her." He whispered.

"You don't have to be, we will all be here for her." She whispered into his chest. "We are a team, remember and we face everything together."

"I've just never seen her like this before." He mumbled thinking about Kimberly who was currently in Tommy's bed sleeping.

"I know." She said pulling back from him to look him in the eye. "Now let's get you something to eat. The others will be coming over the next few days since they all couldn't get off work at a moment's notice." She explained as he nodded.

"Hayley is downstairs working on a way to free him." He informed her.

"What about the other rangers? Are they downstairs as well?" She asked.

"No, I sent them home." Hayley said from behind them.

"Did you free Tommy already?" Jason asked as she shook her head no.

"I'm sorry; I just needed something to drink." She replied before moving past him to the cabinets to grab a glass before walking over to the sink to fill it.

As she did that the front door opened to reveal the Dinos walking into the house with several fast food bags along with their backpacks.

"I thought you said that you sent them home." Jason muttered looking over at Hayley.

"I did." She answered. "What are you guys doing back? You have school in the morning." She stated.

"Well Dr. O is one of our teachers so I don't think we have to worry about that class." Connor teased as the three teens walked into the kitchen.

"We didn't want to leave him. He is our teammate and mentor." Kira explained. "I know that the former rangers wouldn't have left his side." She said pointing to Jason and Trini.

"She's right." Jason said as Trini nodded.

"We also thought that we might be some kind of help to you." Ethan stated setting his bags down on the table.

"Okay that's fine but you will do your homework and not bother Kimberly." Hayley said eyeing the three of them.

"Fine by me since she has been a little grumpy now that she is bigger," Connor said before popping something into his mouth.

"She is pregnant!" Kira stated before slapping him in the back of the head. He started coughing then as Trini and Hayley covered their smiles with their hands.

When Connor could finally breathe, he glared at Kira. "I could have choked on that." He said as she shrugged.

"Anyway just help Kimberly and the others when they need it and do your school work." Hayley broke in so that they didn't have another argument between Kira and Connor. They seemed to fight more and more now and she wondered if they were just trying to fight their growing feelings towards each other. It was something that she couldn't worry about now though.

"What others?" Ethan asked as Hayley looked over at Jason and Trini.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that the original rangers are about to descend on Dr. O's house?" Kira asked as Trini nodded. "I wonder what Mesogogg will do with that many rangers in one place." She mused.

"Well if he was smart, he would lay low." Jason said. "He will have several former rangers ready to take him on without powers and one very upset, angry pregnant woman that will think nothing of killing him." He stated.

"On that note, I will get back to finding a way to crack that amber." Hayley said before walking away.

"I'm going to check on Kimberly." Trini said as she walked away too.

"Do you really think that Kimberly can kill Mesogogg? I mean the dude's crazy." Connor said.

"I think that she can handle him no problem." Jason answered. "You forget that she was the first Pink Ranger. I know that she is pregnant but she can still move."

"It's my bet that she can take him down just by her glare alone." Connor muttered as Jason laughed. He would have to agree with statement.

XXXX

Kim slowly woke up and was shocked to find that she was in Tommy's bed. How did she get here? In a blinding flash, she remembered why she was here and why her hands hurt. She sat up as she glanced down at her hands. Jason must have bandaged them for her after she had gone to sleep. Sliding over to the side of the bed, she swung her legs around so that they touched the floor. She was comforted that Jason was here and she thought back to the phone call that she had had with him when she had moved into Tommy's house.

_That night shortly after arriving back at Tommy's place after lunch and shopping, as Kim looked over all the bags sitting on the bed, in which was now her room, she suddenly realized that she needed to call Jason. So grabbing her purse she dug around till she found her phone, and quickly dialed his number as she cleared a space and relaxed on the bed. The phone rang a few times before it is answered by her brother, "So are you now his hostage or do I have to come get you?" Jason asked slightly amused. _

_Kim laughed softly. "No on both counts. I'm going to stay here for a little while, maybe try to see if we can work things out between us." She explained to him. _

_There was a silence at the end of the line for a few moments; it stretched to the point where Kim had to ask, "Jason you still there?" _

_"Yeah, I'm still here. That is great Kim, so I'm guessing he took it well then," He said uncertainly. _

_"Actually he was about as shocked as I was when you found me the day I found out, if not more so. But as big of a shock as my surprise was, the surprise he had for me was a bit bigger," She told him with a bit of an amused tone at the end of her statement. _

_"What surprise could he possibly have that could top yours?" Jason asked suspiciously. At that question Kim started to snicker a bit. "What's the one thing that you can think of that would be more shocking then my turning up on his door step in my present condition? Yet at the same time is completely predictable for the man in question?" She asked. _

_There was another long silence followed by, "Are you serious?" He asked. _

_"Utterly, I saw it with my own two eyes." She replied as she heard him groan in disbelief._

_"What color is he now?" He asked. _

_"Black," She answered. _

_"He is just not going to be happy till he has worn everyone's colors. What's next yellow and pink?" He growled even though Kim knew that he wasn't angry about the fact that Tommy was a ranger. He was more disappointed that Tommy hadn't told them. _

_The picture his words pained had Kim laughing. "Oh, I would love to see him in my pink suit with the skirt." She said thru tears of laughter. _

_She heard Jason burst out laughing at her statement. "Oh I would pay good money to see that." He exclaimed. Once his laughter subsided he asked her "Are you ok with this?" _

_"Honestly, I was upset at first, but then I remembered who I was dealing with and just how typical this is for him. Now I'm just disappointed that I can't join him." She replied. "I had forgotten how much of a rush it all was, so of course now that I'm not there to watch his back, I'm a nervous wreck." She admitted. _

_She heard him sigh deeply on the other end. "You two deserve each other." He muttered. "You know that right? You totally do. " _

_"And just what is that supposed to mean?" She asked in mock offence but it was colored too heavily with humor to be taken seriously. _

_"I think you know what it means Pinky!" He quipped back at her. _

_There was a sudden knock at her door that distracted her from her conversation. "Hey I got to go; I have my baby daddy at the door." She said as he snorted in her ear. "I'll call you back later with an update on how things are going." She said. _

_"Sure sis, love you." He stated. _

_"Love you too, bye," She said as she hung up and went to the door to see what Tommy wanted._

Sighing she quickly left Tommy's room to go to hers, she wanted to change then find out what Hayley had found out about the amber encasing Tommy. Hopefully it was something that could be taken care off quickly so that she could beat on him for causing her to worry. She then wanted him to hold her and promise never to take such a risk again.

XXXX

The next few days passed with nothing major happening. Mesogogg had not attacked since Tommy had been encased and even the White Ranger had seemed too disappeared as well. Hayley still struggled with finding the answer and had had to step away just to clear her head. Thankfully the former rangers had finally arrived on Friday night with their bags. They had asked off work so that they could be here with Kimberly and Tommy. It had been a little shocking to learn that Tommy and Kimberly were back together but they had all taken it in stride. Everyone had wondered what had bought along this change but they all waited to get the story from one of them.

"How's Kimberly?" Rocky asked as soon as he walked into the house. He had been in constant contact with Jason ever since the first phone call and he always asked about Kimberly then Tommy. Jason always said that she was doing okay but that he needed to get here as soon as possible.

"Better than she was." Jason said truthfully. "She is still lost without Tommy but she is coping a little better now. Thankfully she is sleeping at the moment. She hasn't gotten much sleep over the past few days. She keeps waking up asking if we have freed him yet."

"Okay." He said as the others came into the house behind him.

"Wow, there are a whole lot of you." Connor muttered as he stood up from his seat on the couch. He knew that Dr. O had former ranger friends but he hadn't expected all of them to come here when there was nothing that they could really do except wait.

"Well this isn't all of us." Trini said. "Justin is out of the country at the moment on some kind of assignment, the Space team is on KO-35, and the Light speed Rescue team is somewhere near Marnier Bay and who knows about the other teams."

"I never dreamed that you would put your lives on hold for Dr. O." Ethan said looking at the room full of people.

"Dr. O?" A man in black asked. "Tommy has sure gained their respect."

"Well he is their teacher." Jason said. "Anyway I guess introductions are in order." He said as everyone nodded. Ten minutes later everyone knew everyone's names. Billy had joined Hayley downstairs to see if he could help her get Tommy out. Everyone else let the two brains work it out. It was better that way since Billy and Hayley liked to work alone. They had also requested that Connor and Rocky stay upstairs since they didn't need any distractions.

"So explain something to me." Rocky started as everyone found seats around the room. Some were on couches, chairs, and even the floor. "How did Tommy squeeze back in the spandex? He's not as fit as he used to be." He asked as everyone laughed.

"I want to know how he even got to be a ranger again. I mean isn't there an age limit or something?" Zack asked.

"We have these gems that bonded with our DNA." Kira explained. "Dr. O then gave us morphers to help in the fight against Mesogogg."

"Yea and when Dr. O was captured, he found the black gem. We went to rescue him and he took it from Mesogogg. It was encased in some white substance but once it was freed, it bonded to his DNA." Ethan filled in.

"Well I'm jealous." Zack said leaning back against the couch.

"Oh I'm not." Katherine said. "It took me too long to get the hang of everything the first time. I probably wouldn't be able to even throw a punch now." She said with a shudder.

"Okay, forget that what I want to know is how Kimberly came to be here with Tommy." Aisha said looking over at Jason and Trini. "You two seemed to be the only ones that knew that she was here so why wasn't everyone else told? We are all her friends and it's not right to keep secrets."

"I will let Kimberly explain that to you." Trini said quietly. She didn't want to tell everyone that Kim was expecting Tommy's baby. It was something that Kimberly would have to explain to them.

"You know something so spill." Tanya said as Trini shook her head no. "Why not?" asked Tanya.

"It's not my news to tell." Trini said calmly. The tone in her voice had them backing off because they knew that Trini wouldn't be telling them anything. She had made up her mind about that.

"I bet she's knocked up." Rocky stated crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh please, Rocky. They haven't seen each other in years. I'm pretty sure that getting knocked up involves them seeing each other." Aisha stated while glaring at her husband. Sometimes she wanted to smack him upside the head for the crazy things that came out of his mouth.

"Besides they know better than that, I can't see them being that careless." Katherine said as Tanya and Aisha nodded.

"I think that you girls are crazy to think that those two haven't seen each other." Rocky said cocking his head to the side. He knew the sparks that always seemed to be between the former White and Pink Rangers. If you looked close enough, you could be blinded. It was something that couldn't be ignored.

"And I think that you have babies on the brain." Aisha said as everyone looked over at the husband and wife.

"Is there something you two have to share?" Trini asked moving the topic off of Tommy and Kimberly. "Are you two expecting a little ranger yourselves?"

"Oh no," Aisha quickly exclaimed. "We have just been discussing when we want to start trying for a family." She explained.

"I want kids tomorrow but Aisha tells me that she would like to start trying later this year or next." He said with air quotes around the word trying.

"We haven't been married that long and I want to enjoy just being a couple." She explained as all the women nodded.

"Rocky, I think you lost that one." Jason muttered as all the guys laughed. The younger rangers just didn't know what to think. They could see the bond between the former rangers and it had nothing to do with having worn the suits. They were friends and it really showed as they listened to the teasing thrown back and forth between everyone. The stories were just as great since they got to hear about before Dr. O was Dr. O. He was just a high school student trying not to be late to class, flirting with Kimberly, and being a Power Ranger.

XXXX

The sound of laughter was what woke Kimberly up. She opened her eyes and slowly stretched. She hadn't meant to take a nap since she knew that everyone should be on their way over here but she couldn't help it. Sleep had just taken over because she had passed out in Tommy's bed. Since his encasement, she had just moved into his bedroom. It was the closest that she could be to him at the moment without actually sleeping next to the amber which Jason had vetoed that first day.

Standing up she went to the adjoining bathroom and quickly washed the sleep from her eyes before throwing her hair up into a twist. She grabbed a clip to secure it before walking back into the bedroom. She thought about changing but it was just her friends and she didn't care that much about them seeing her in her pink tank top and shorts.

As she walked to the door, her stomach growled which made her smile. She rubbed her belly as she stepped out of the room and made her way to the living room. A secure feeling fell over her as she neared her friends, they were her family.

"Well look who has finally decided to join us." Aisha said as she scrambled up off the floor to rush over to Kimberly before pausing. The room suddenly fell quiet as all eyes looked at Kimberly more specially at her rounded belly.

"I TOLD YOU!" Rocky yelled as he pumped his arms in the air as if in victory.

"Told what?" Kim asked feeling a little nervous since everyone's eyes were glued on her at the moment. She rubbed her belly before looking back at Aisha whose mouth was hanging open.

"You're pre… you're…" Aisha stuttered.

"I'm pregnant." Kim finished with a smile.

"Yea that." Aisha said as the other girls calmly made their way over to Kimberly.

"How far along are you?" Katherine asked reaching out to touch Kim's belly. It was like she didn't believe that Kim was pregnant so she had to touch her belly to make sure.

"I'm six months." Kim said easily. She knew that this would be a shock to her friends but this wasn't something that you could tell them over the phone. It was an in person conversation.

"Six months?" Tanya asked as Kim nodded.

"Kim, that's right around the time that you were going for that audition." Katherine said as Kim nodded again. No one was shocked that Kat had calculated it that fast. She was pretty good with numbers.

"The one where you got trapped in the elevator," Aisha stated thinking back six months ago.

"Yea the very one," Kim said. "I left some things out of that story when I told you the first time."

"Yea like how you and Tommy did the nasty in a public elevator." Rocky piped in as Kim groaned. Trust Rocky to make it sound dirtier than what it was.

"It wasn't like that." Kim stated as she walked over to the couch. Ethan and Connor both jumped up so that Kim could sit down. They had gotten used to getting up whenever Kim approached the couch after Kira had scream at them to move. They had finally gotten their hearing back and didn't want to lose it again.

"So tell us what it was like to make our little sister to do something in a public place that should be reserved for the bedroom." Zack said as Kim threw one of the pillows on couch at him.

"I don't think I want all the details, I still want to be able to look Tommy in the eye." Adam muttered while still looking at Kim's belly.

"I just don't want to punch him for getting Kim into this shape." Rocky muttered as Kim giggled. She loved these men and knew that they weren't that upset over her condition since they wanted her and Tommy together like the girls did. They just wanted them to be married before they started a family.

"Okay well the power was out and we were the only two in the elevator so it wasn't that public. It was more like we need to do something to reaffirm that we are still alive." She said. "The car had fallen several feet with us in it before stabilizing. As soon as we were pulled from the elevator, the car crashed to the bottom of the shaft. If the emergency crew had been only moments longer you wouldn't have to worry about me being pregnant as a single woman." Kim stated quietly.

"So you kiss and wait until you get out, you don't have sex in an elevator." Aisha stated trying not to freak out at Kim's story. "And you don't forget to tell your best friends about being pregnant."

"You don't get it, we didn't even know if there was going to be a later, we were scared out of our minds and trying to comfort each other, it just went a little too far. I don't regret it though, if those were going to be our last moments we wanted to fill them with as much life as physically possible," exclaimed Kim.

"As far as for the not telling part goes, I know I should have, but this was something that was better said in person." Kim stated a little bit calmer than before. "Besides Tommy and I are working this out."

"So when is the wedding?" Adam asked changing the subject from Kim and Tommy's near death experience. He didn't want to upset Kim anymore with memories of the elevator.

"We haven't discussed it." She replied biting her lip. She braced herself for the disapproval of her friends.

"But there is going to be a wedding, right?" Rocky asked leaning forward. The teasing light in his eyes shifted to something a bit darker.

"Well that's one of the details that we are still working out." She said.

"If he is not willing to do the honorable thing then I will get the shotgun while Adam and Zack get the grave ready." Rocky stated as Kim laughed. "He will marry you and make an honest woman out of you." He muttered.

"Rocky, settle down and let me explain." She said as he glared at her. "He asked and I told him no because I don't want him to marry me just because of the baby. We have a lot to work through before I agree to marry him." She explained.

"So I need to drag you up the aisle?" He asked while arching an eyebrow, as she sighed. "Don't worry my plan can be adjusted to accommodate that. I will see the mother and father of my niece married." He warned as Aisha hit him on the arm.

"You will let them work through their problems." Aisha remarked winking at Kimberly.

"Oh I will, and then they are getting married." He promised as Billy and Hayley walked back upstairs.

"Looks like a party to me." Billy said as Kim struggled to get up.

"Billy!" She said as walked over to him and hugged him close.

"So Tommy trapped in amber is not the only situation we have going on in the house." He remarked as he looked down at her swollen belly.

"I guess you could say that." She said smiling. "Have you and Hayley figured out anything yet?" She asked sounding hopeful. It was nothing against Hayley but she trusted Billy to find the way to get Tommy out. She had just seen what Billy could do time and time again. Hayley was good but Billy would always be better to her.

"Well we have an idea that we are going to try and hope that it works." He said. "But please don't get your hopes up, it may not work." He cautioned as she nodded.

"Can I join you?" She asked as he sighed.

"I would prefer you stay up here but I know that you need to be down there." He said as she nodded. "I want you to stay back and out of the way."

"Don't worry; we will make sure that she is out of the line of fire." Jason stated as everyone stood up. They all made their way back downstairs as Billy and Hayley got everything setup. Jason and Rocky positioned themselves between the amber and Kimberly. She could still see around them though which was all that mattered to her.

"Okay please don't move." Hayley asked as everyone nodded and gathered just a little closer to Kimberly.

"It's a good thing that I'm not claustrophobic." Kim stated as everyone laughed.

"Well that elevator story wouldn't have been that interesting if you were." Rocky whispered as Kim smiled.

"Okay here goes nothing." Billy muttered as he flipped the laser on and stood back as it hit the amber.

Kim watched as the amber began to fray and finally starts to crack. She hadn't even realized that she had moved until she was standing alone next to Tommy. Billy shut the laser off when he realized that Kimberly was close. It was enough though because Tommy moved and the rest of the amber cracked as Tommy broke out.

"Tommy." Kim whispered as Tommy rushed to her side as she starting beating on his chest. "How could you do this?" She yelled. "You are part of a TEAM! This is not a one man show and you know that!" She screamed as everyone took a step back. They knew that Kim needed to get her anger out and the only one that could take it was the one that made her that way in the first place. They also noticed her hands then. The bandages were turning red; it was a stark reminder that this wasn't a game.

Tommy just stood there and let Kim beat her hands against his chest until she finally calmed down. "Kimberly." He whispered as he placed one gloved hand on her cheek before gathering her close. "I've missed you." He whispered.

"I've missed you." She whispered back as everyone stood back to let them have their moment. "Now can you please get out of that suit so that I can see that you are really alright?" She asked stepping back. She waited until she realized that something was wrong.

"Okay that didn't work." He muttered as Kim looked over at Hayley and Billy who both looked perplexed.

"You can't get out of your suit?" She asked placing her hand on his chest.

"Not at the moment." He said wishing that he had his helmet from the White Ranger suit because it at least had outer clips so that he could to take it off. He really wanted to kiss her because he knew that it would soothe her more than any words could.

"So one problem solved but another one is discovered just your luck, Tommy." Jason muttered as he walked over to them.

"It's okay, we will figure this out." Hayley promised as Tommy nodded before pulling Kimberly into his arms again. He could still hold her close even in the suit.

XXXX

Without another word the two of them left the basement, leaning on each other as they did so. They both felt drain by the past few days, and as he looked down into her face he could see how it had worn on her.

As they reached the top of the stairs and headed towards the living room he took one of her hands in his gloved one and said, "I'm sorry I put you through that. You were right it was an unnecessary risk, even if I did learn the identity of the ranger we been fighting."

He squeezed her hand lightly in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture, but when he saw her wince in pain from his action he stopped and looked at her confused for a moment. Then looked down at the hand he held within his own and saw how the white bandages were freshly stained with scarlet in the places where she pounded upon his chest just moments ago, just in the same way he watched her pound against the amber.

He was thankful that the visor was hiding his face and she couldn't see the tears that had started to form in his eyes. The fact that she hurt herself over him was like a knife in his already breaking heart. For as much as they seemed to love each other they only seemed to cause each other pain.

Doubt started to creep into him that maybe she was right, if this was only the first in a long line of hurts they were going to inflict on each other, maybe she was right not to accept his proposal. It wouldn't be right to put a child in the middle of that, but knowing this still wouldn't make his heart release its vice like iron grip on her and the idea of a future together as a family.

"Hey I may not be able to see your face, but I can tell that there is something bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?" She asked him.

He sighed. "This is my fault. You have no idea how sorry I am for these marks." He stated as he held up her hand to show her the fresh blood on her bandages.

She looked down at her hands then back up at him. "No, you do not get to blame yourself for this! I did this; it was my mistake, just like going alone was yours. We both know how frustrating this life can be at times." She said as she gestured to his suit. "More so now that I can't be with you to watch your back, but I sure as hell wasn't going to not try to get you out on my own, I had to help you if I could. Especially after all the times you did so for me, if felt like leaving a man behind, teams don't do that, even if this isn't the same team anymore."

Her eyes started to water as she turned away from him so he wouldn't see. "I couldn't lose you now, not after all this, your child has the right to get to know you." She said so softly it came out barely above a whisper.

He reached for her and turned her to face him just as the tears spilled over, and slipped down her cheeks. "Oh Kim, you're not going to lose me, I plan on sticking around for our child. But you have to take better care of yourself; this child's going to need you, even more than I will. You can't keep doing this." He said has held her hand carefully up for display. "No matter what happens to me during the course of this," and points to his suit, "you have to make sure that you're here for our child's sake. The baby is going to need at least one of us." He said softly as he put his free hand on her swollen belly.

As if in response the baby kicked at the feel of his hand. "Oh my gosh, did you feel that?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I did, I think that was the first normal thing that has happened during this pregnancy." Kim responded with a slightly watery smile.

The unexpected happy moment was broken when they heard a voice call out. "Hey I thought you could use this." Jason remarked as he came into view as he descended the steps with the first aid kit in his hands.

"Good idea bro." Tommy noted as he pulled Kim over to the couch so Jason could tend to her hands.

"Let's see what kind of damage you did pounding on this rainbow colored rock head." Jason teased trying to lighten the mood as he removed the old bandages.

Kim giggled a bit as Tommy groaned. "You and the rest of the guys aren't going to start calling me that now; are you?" He asked.

"Maybe, we will have to see how things go." Jason said evading the question as he finally removed the bandages from Kim's hands.

Even though to Jason and Kim the damage didn't look as bad as it had the first time, they both still heard Tommy hiss at the sight of it.

"It's not a bad as it looks right now." Jason stated trying to reassure him. "It's is nowhere near as bad as it was as the first time, she just re-opened some of the deeper wounds on her knuckles, the ones that haven't fully closed yet." He explained.

The attempts at comfort had obviously fallen flat when they heard Tommy mutter, "That's a small comfort man; she shouldn't be hurt at all."

"True, but then you shouldn't have been incased in rock. So I think you should just call that one an even draw and let it go. I think she held up rather well under the circumstances, so cut her a little slack man." Jason uttered as he worked quickly but thoroughly on Kim's hands and soon had them re-bandaged. "There all done." He said as he finished with her hand and sat them in her lap.

"Thank you." Kim whispered as she looked down at her hands.

"The others shouldn't be back for a while why don't you stretch out here and get some rest." Jason suggested as he packed up the kit.

"Don't worry man; I'll make sure of it." Tommy said.

"I meant the both of you." Jason retorted as he shook his head, and walked out of the room.

"It's not a bad idea." Kim mused as she let out a big yawn in the process.

He pulled her close to him as he stretched out on the couch, and she snuggled into his embrace.

"Do you think we will ever be normal?" She asked him as he wrapped his arms around her and he laughed softly.

"When have we ever been normal? We meet as teenage superheroes, and started our family inside of a faulty elevator after getting trapped inside because of an earthquake. I don't think we know normal if it spit in our faces, let alone what to do with it." He told her.

"Good point, but still it would be a nice thing to strive for after the baby is born." She whispered through the encroaching exhaustion that was pulling her down into sleep and was causing the slurring of her words.

"Whatever you say, beautiful," He whispered in her ear, but he could tell she already sound asleep. Closing his eyes, he joined her in her nap while the others were gone.

XXXX

Rocky pulled onto the road and gripped the steering wheel as the other people in the car talked about Tommy finally being free. He was happy that Tommy was free but all he could think of was the fact that Tommy and Kimberly could have died and no one would have been there.

"Rocky?" Aisha asked when she noticed her husband's profile. "Rocky, what's wrong?" She asked as everyone quieted down.

"We could have lost both of them." He answered quietly.

"I know but we didn't." Trini said leaning forward from the back seat to place her hand on Rocky's shoulder. "It wasn't their time to leave us."

"We wouldn't have been there." He muttered. "I didn't realize until she talked about the elevator car falling only moments after they exited it. If the crew would have been late or hadn't thought to check their car…" He said flexing his hands on the steering wheel as they made their way into town to buy some more supplies.

"Rocky, they are both fine." Aisha said as she placed her hand on his thigh.

"Yea I know that." He whispered. "Did any of you notice her hands?" He asked quietly.

"Yea but only when she started beating on Tommy's chest." Aisha replied. "They were bleeding again but what happened is my question."

"She hurt them on the amber." Trini informed them. "Jason saw that she was just beating on the amber when he showed up. He had to pull her off of it before she finally collapsed in his arms. The damage had already been done to her hands though." She explained sadly.

"Oh that's heartbreaking and just another reminder that we could have lost them. I can't even think of a world without them." Tanya whispered. "I mean they are both so full of life."

"You know I'm actually glad that they were together though." Katherine stated. "I'm really happy that they have something from that tragedy too. I mean it has bought them back together where they belong." She remarked.

"You're right, that baby has done what we could only wish for." Tanya said with a smile.

"Well you know that with Tommy back in spandex that we need to watch over her and the baby." Rocky stated.

They all thought about it for a minute and agreed. "You're right she is going to need us. I don't even want to think about what could happen if this Mesogogg creature were to get ahold of her." Trini stated.

"Well there would be a very angry black ranger that could possibly revert back to his old days of the Evil Green Ranger." Rocky stated as he pulled into the parking lot of the local grocery store.

"Very true, so we all agree that we will keep a watch over Kimberly and the baby?" Kat asked as everyone nodded before getting out.

"So how much do we need to buy?" Trini asked as they walked into the store.

"A lot," Rocky said grabbing a cart.

Aisha smiled and grabbed a cart as did Katherine, Tanya, and Trini. "I have to agree. We are feeding Rocky and Connor."

"Hey!" Rocky yelled mock hurt.

"Don't act hurt you know that it's true." Aisha said walking passed her husband to start shopping.

It took the five of them three hours to finish their shopping. They had thankfully driven the Tahoe so that they could fit as many groceries as they could buy.

"Let's get back to Tommy's and see if there is any change." Rocky said closing the back as everyone nodded and got in.

XXXX

A few weeks passed and Tommy was still in his suit. It had actually just become normal to see him walking around the house in the suit. Mesogogg had started attacking the town again which actually gave Tommy an opportunity to leave the house since he couldn't any other way. He had also had to run down to the basement several times when they heard a car pulling up in the driveway. He couldn't afford to be caught running around in his ranger suit.

He had found out that Kimberly had taken over his room while he had been encased in amber which was fine by him. He liked the fact that she had wanted to be close to him and had chosen to sleep in his bed. Thankfully he had managed to get to sleep next to her without too much trouble from their friends. They had all started to say something but one look from Kim had them shut up faster than anything he had seen. It was like Kim didn't want to let him out of her sight for too long. He was okay with that though because he didn't want her out of his sight.

The weird thing for all the friends was to see Kim and Tommy sitting on the couch discussing baby names.

"What are you two talking about?" Jason asked walking into the room. He had heard the two of them talking outside so it had to be a heated topic between them.

"Baby names," Tommy answered.  
"Yeah and guess what our very own Peter Pan wants to name my child." Kim threw out as she eased off the couch to face their friends.

"Peter Pan?" Connor asked. "Dr. O looks nothing like that Disney character." He stated as Kim looked at him in confusion. Kira just glared at him while everyone else just smiled.

"I called him that because he can't seem to grow up." Kim muttered while rubbing her forehead. "Anyway my baby daddy wants to name my child Zordon." She stated as the woman gasped.

"Really?" Rocky asked not seeing anything wrong with it. "I think it would be pretty cool."

"No, it would not be cool." Aisha stated looking at her husband. "Their child is not an interdimensional being."

"Hey we don't know that for sure considering it is Tommy and Kimberly." Adam supplied as Kim groaned.  
"Yea that's all I need to think about." Kim mumbled.

"I want to know what's wrong with Zordon; I mean you loved him more than I did." Tommy stated as he leaned back against the cushions looking over at her.

"It's not normal and I don't want our child to be picked on because of the name." She replied slowly.

"You want to talk about normal, what about those stars that name their kids after fruit. I mean isn't one of them named Plum or something?" Rocky asked sitting down beside Tommy on the couch.

"I think you mean Apple and that's weird too." Trini said. "Their baby should have a strong but normal name." She said.

"What's normal?" Rocky asked. "Anyway who said that it's going to be a boy?" He asked looking at Kimberly. "You need a girl."

"Well we are still waiting but we are discussing boy and girl names so that we have one ready by the time the baby is born." Kim replied.

"You should name him Connor." Connor said. "It's a very cool name."

"Oh no, if they are going to name their child after any of us then it's going to be me." Rocky remarked. "You're too young to even be considered in the running."

"What does young have to do with it and why would they wanted another Rocky?" Zack asked leaning against the wall.

"Look I'm not naming my baby after any of you, sorry." Kim stated.

"Our baby," Tommy corrected.

"Sorry our baby but I'm also not naming him after our mentor either." She said looking back at Tommy. "I did love Zordon but he was one of a kind and I could never name my child after him."

"So what girl names have you discussed since the boys are not working?" Tanya asked finally joining the conversation.

"We haven't even made it to the girl's names yet." Kim replied in a moan.

"We can get you a baby book if that will help." Kat suggested.

"We have one." Tommy said. "My mom mailed us one when she found out that we were expecting." He explained.

"And why is it not in here with you?" Jason asked crossing his arms across his chest.

"I didn't feel like getting up to go and look for it." Tommy said truthfully. "Although now that would have been a better idea since Kim is upset now."

"Oh I'm not upset." She sighed. "I just wanted to discuss baby names like a normal couple but we're not normal." She said.

"Why are you not normal?" Kira asked.

"Well let's see my baby's daddy is stuck in black spandex that we have no clue how to get him out of and I have friends that are more like family because we all shared a secret life." Kim replied with a smile.

The baby name topic was dropped when Kim and Rocky complained about being hungry. She giggled at him and told him that she had an excuse and he said that he did too. She didn't even want to ask what it was so, everyone got to work on getting dinner ready while Hayley, Ethan, and Billy slaved away in the basement trying to find an answer for Tommy.

XXXX

"Tommy, what's wrong?" Jason asked as all the guys sat back and watched the girls minus Kim help the Dinos with some basic fighting moves. The guys were taking a break while the girls worked.

"This situation with Kim and me has me thinking that I'm not right for Kimberly." He muttered. "She needs a man who doesn't wear spandex and fights monsters on a daily basis."

"Tommy, she loves you." Jason stated.

"I know but maybe I should let her go." Tommy reflected.

"Are you serious?" Adam asked really looking at his former leader.

"I am." Tommy replied.

"Great now we have to drag them both up the aisle." Rocky moaned. "You're killing me!"

"Rocky, I can't let her get in harm's way because of me." Tommy reasoned.

"You realized that you will be miserable without her in your life." Zack stated.

Tommy sighed and leaned back against his house. "I know but at least she will be safe along with our baby." He said slowly. "She was right to turn down my proposal."

"Tommy, she may have turned you down but she won't leave you." Jason stated.

"You two were meant to be together no matter what life throws at you." Adam added.

"I just don't know if this is right for her. I mean look at me, I'm in spandex. This is not normal." Tommy pointed out.

"Kim's life isn't normal either. I mean she was a ranger before you were. She is also a world class gymnast along with a rocking singer. You two have led charmed lives but they have been intertwined since you first came to Angel Grove." Jason said. "You two are soul mates and the half of the other one."

"Awe Jason, I didn't know that you waxed lyrical." Rocky teased as Jason shoved him against the house.

"Shut up." Jason growled. "It's true and you know it."

"Yea Jason's right. Tommy, you and Kimberly are meant to be. The way everything has unfolded in the past few months is proof of that." Zack stated.

"I'm also sure that if you tried to let her go that she will cling to you like saran wrap." Adam said.

"Besides if you do let her go, do you want another man raising your child?" Jason asked folding his arms across his chest.

"No." Tommy replied. "I want to be the only father my kid knows."

"Good then go in there and spend some time with Kimberly." Rocky said. "Please nothing too dirty." He teased.

"How is that even going to be possible, Rocky? I'm stuck in this suit." Tommy said.

"Don't worry about Rocky." Adam muttered. "Just go talk to Kimberly."

"Thanks guys." Tommy said as he left them to walk into the house through the sliding glass doors as the guys turned to look at the girls again. They noticed that Ethan and Connor were on the ground in a heap with Kira on the top of the pile with Kat and Trini standing over them. They didn't even want to know how that had happened.

Tommy walked into the house and saw Kimberly. The heavy weight that had surrounded him fell away as she looked up and smiled at him. It was so easy to love her.

"You know I could get used to seeing you in black spandex." Kim commented as Tommy walked into the living room. She was on the couch reading the baby name book that he had finally found last night while she slept.

"Really?" Tommy asked leaning against the door frame, his smirk hidden by his helmet.

"Oh yeah, you are super sexy in that color." She stated blinking her eyes at him.

"I thought you said that you loved me white." He said walking toward her.

"I do love you in white but the black is sexy." She replied as he stopped in front of the couch.

"You know I wish that I could kiss you right now." He whispered leaning down towards her.

"Me too," she whispered back as he reached down and scooped her up into his arms. "TOMMY!" She squealed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him. "Put me down, I'm too big for you." She stated as he laughed.

"Kimberly?" Jason shouted as everyone rushed inside. "What's wrong?" He yelled before coming to a complete stop at Tommy holding Kimberly in his arms.

"Sorry, Jason, I didn't mean to scare everyone." Kim apologized.

"Yea right," Jason muttered. "Tommy, put her down because we don't need her going into labor because you can't be at the hospital with her in your present condition." He stated.

"Don't worry; I have plenty of time left in this pregnancy so no early babies." Kim informed them.

"Jason, I'm being very careful with Kimberly and our baby." Tommy said as he sat down on the couch with Kim in his lap.

"Whatever, anyway we'll be outside if you need us." Jason said as Tommy and Kim nodded.

"No laughing." Tommy warned as Kim's eyes sparkled.

"Well you did bring them in here when you picked me up." She remarked. "Anyway how are the Dinos doing?" She asked settling against his chest as his arms came around her body.

"Good, they are learning a lot from the girls." He replied.

"Why the girls?" She asked lacing her fingers through his gloved ones.

"Because according to Connor and Ethan, they fight dirty like Elsa does." He replied. "I don't know how they came to that conclusion but the guys thought that it would be a good idea to pit them against the girls for a while."

"It makes sense." Kim mumbled as she laid her head against his shoulder. "I've been looking at boy names and I've decided that maybe we should wait until we see the baby. I don't want to pick a name that won't fit him or her."

"I'm okay with that since we are waiting to find out the sex." He said. "Kimberly, I love you."

She rose up and looked into his visor. "I love you too." She whispered placing one of her hands against his helmet. "I just wish that I could see those soulful eyes of yours."

"Hopefully Hayley and Billy will make a break-through and get me out of this suit soon." He said as she settled back against his shoulder.

XXXX

The next day Tommy made his way down to the basement. He saw Billy and Hayley working hard on trying to find a solution to get him out of the suit like they had been for the past few weeks. Ethan was at school or he would be there helping them. The others had run to town for some more food since what they had bought was almost gone already. Tommy had given them some money to help cover some of the groceries since they were giving up their lives to be with him and Kimberly during this time. He was glad that they were there though because it helped him keep Kim calm and grounded through all of this. He didn't want anything to happen to her or the baby because she was worrying over him or the other rangers.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kim asked from the top of the stairs as she slowly made her way down with her hand on the rail the whole time. He was happy to see that she was being safe but she was supposed to be sleeping.

"Just seeing if Billy and Hayley had anything yet," he said as soon as she made it to his side. "I thought that you were sleeping." He commented.

"I couldn't sleep." She said as they walked over to the computer. "Have the brain trust found anything yet?" She asked looking at Billy and Hayley.

"Actually we think that we may have something." Hayley said as Billy nodded.

"I'm all ears because frankly I'm ready for a shower." Tommy said as Kim giggled beside him. "It's not funny; this suit is getting itchy now."

"Well Hayley and I analyzed the substance collected from Mesogogg's latest monster that you collected earlier." Billy stated.

"You mean the slime that Elsa was feeding it?" Kim asked as Hayley nodded.

"Anyway we think that this will free Tommy from the suit." Billy said removing his glasses to rub between his eyes before replacing them.

"Well I've got nothing to lose, so let's do it." Tommy stated.

"Is it safe?" Kim asked as Hayley helped Tommy into the chamber she had set up.

"Not sure." Hayley admitted.

"What?" Kim asked as Hayley sighed.

"This is the best thing that we could come up with and Billy is sure that this will work." She said as they heard voices upstairs. The others were already back from shopping it sounded like.

"That was a quick trip." Tommy muttered as Kim nodded. It took all of 2 minutes for everyone to make their way downstairs and over to Kim's side. They had taken to watching over her and making sure that she was okay. It was beginning to drive her nuts though. She knew that it was because they loved her but she was a grown woman and could take care of herself.

"Have you found a way to get Tommy out of his suit?" Jason asked noticing that Tommy was stepping into a chamber while Kim was standing next to Hayley.

"We think so." Billy answered. "If everyone could please stand back and that means you Kimberly." He said looking back at her.

"Don't worry I've got her." Hayley said grabbing one of Kimberly's hands.

Billy nodded and flipped the switch to release the slime in the chamber. They watched as the slime covered Tommy until all they saw was the slime. After a few minutes Billy flipped the switch off before draining all the slime and opening the door. He had expected to see a naked Tommy since they had predicted that the slime would leave him in that state but all he saw when he opened the chamber door was nothing.

"Uh where did he go?" Rocky asked looking around the room.

"Oh." Kim exclaimed in a breath then sighed and closed her eyes. She looped her arms around his neck as she kissed him. It felt great just holding him never mind feeling his lips on hers.

"Never mind, I think I know where he is." Rocky muttered. "Dude, Billy I think that you made him invisible now though." He said looking over at Kimberly. She had her arms in the air and it looked like she was just kissing air. It was just too weird.

"What?" Tommy asked once he broke away from Kim and saw that everyone was looking around. "I'm right here guys." He stated pulling Kim just a little closer to his body. He couldn't get to her fast enough when that suit had come off. As soon as he had reached her side, he had kissed her hard, maybe a little harder than he had intended to, but he had been excited to finally get to touch her without his suit in the way.

"Tommy, dear, we can't see you." Kim stated softly as he looked down at her. She had realized that he was invisible when she had opened her eyes after he had pulled back from her lips.

"I don't understand." He said because he wasn't using his power so they should be able to see him.

"The only reason I know that you are in front of me is because you are holding me." She explained as he released her and raised his hand. He couldn't see it even though he could feel it in the air.

"This is just not my week." He groaned.

"I would say so." Zack said as Billy scratched his head.

"Hey the good news is that you are out of the suit, Dr. O." Connor said as everyone groaned.

"Well back to the computer." Hayley muttered as she sat back down.

"I can't believe this." Billy mumbled looking at the slime. "This was not in the prediction model."

"Looks like your science didn't work this time." Rocky said.

"Well actually it did, just not in the way that you wanted it too," Kira stated trying to see the good.

"Kira's right, we just have to figure out how to make him visible now." Hayley said as Billy sighed and nodded.

"Hey are his clothes invisible too?" Connor asked just now noticing that they should be to at least see his clothes.

"No." Billy stated.

"Oh dude, put some clothes on." Rocky groaned. "I did not need to know that he was in his birthday suit."

"I'm invisible what's it matter?" Tommy asked.

"It's just the thought." Rocky replied.

"Hey I'm with Rocky on this one." Jason stated. "Besides if you put some clothes on we will be able to see you because frankly hearing your voice but not seeing you is freaking me out."

"Fine I'll get some clothes on." Tommy growled as he released Kim and walked upstairs.

"Well back to the drawing board." Hayley commented as she sat back down at the computer.

"We'll leave you alone then." Trini said ushering everyone back upstairs. "Dinner will be ready in an hour." She said before disappearing upstairs as well.

XXXX

Two days later Tommy was lying down on one of the metal medic tables in the basement. Hayley and Billy had finally come up with a plan to turn him back visible. Everyone was standing back because they had no idea how this was going to work.

"Tommy you will need to attach these patches on your chest while I place your dino gem in the laser." She said as he took the patches from her. They were hook to some machine that he didn't recognize.

"Is this safe for him?" Kim asked quietly. "I mean you are using the power from his gem."

"It's the only source that we found that has enough power to turn him back while not harming his body." Billy explained. "I will try to make it as safe as possible, Kimberly."

"Don't worry, Kim." Tommy said. "I trust Billy and Hayley."

As Hayley placed the gem in the laser, she stepped back next to Billy as everyone put on their safety glasses. Billy turned on the laser and waited to see what would happen. Seconds later Tommy appeared before a light flashed and the laser shut off.

"What happened?" Jason asked as Kim rushed to Tommy's side.

"His gem broke apart." Hayley stated examining the black rock. "It's in three pieces." She informed them.

"So what's that mean? He can't be a ranger anymore?" Kira asked.

"Uh Billy, I can't wake him." Kim said. "Tommy." She said again this time shaking his shoulders.

"His vitals are all over the map." Hayley remarked. "We need to get him to the hospital to get him stabilized." She said.

"What? We can't take him to the hospital." Zack said. "What are we going to tell them when they asked what happened?" He asked.

"I'll call Dana and have her come in." Trini said. "She is a former ranger so she will know not to ask questions."

"Call her while we get him into the car." Jason ordered as Kim stepped back to let him get to Tommy's side. The tears were streaming down her face now as she watched Jason, Rocky, Zack, and Adam lift Tommy up and carry him upstairs. She was right behind them.

They made it to the hospital in record time and Dana was there as they bought him in. She began running tests to see exactly what was wrong. Once Tommy was moved into a private room, Kim got up to make her way to his side. She intended to stay next to him until he opened his eyes. The others were in the waiting room downstairs because they had been told one visitor at a time. No one even questioned Kimberly being that one.

"Uh miss, where do you think you're going?" One of the nurses asked her as she tried to move past the nurses' station. "That floor is reserved for family members only, I'm sorry."

"What is Tommy Oliver's room number?" Kim asked.

"I told you that floor is only reserved for family members." The nurse stated.

"Yes and I'm his fiancée who happens to be very pregnant with his baby so if you do not tell me what room he is in, I'm going to talk myself into labor and have him moved to my side in delivery." Kim stated as she glared at the nurse.

"Oh I'm sorry; I didn't know that Dr. Oliver was engaged. It wasn't in his file." She said. "He is in room 125."

"Thank you." Kim said as she breezed past the nurse and made her way towards Tommy's room. Stepping inside she saw Dana looking over his chart.

"Kimberly, please tell me that I won't have to delivery your baby at this time." Dana said with a smile.

"No, I think we're perfectly safe at the moment. I still have a little less than 3 months left." Kim stated with a smile.

"How did you get the nurses to let you back here?" Dana asked as Kim sat down in the chair next to Tommy's bed.

"I told them that I was his fiancée." She replied with a smile. "I mean he is the father of my child and he did ask me to marry him."

"Didn't you turn him down?" Dana asked with a smile.

"You know news travels way too fast in this group of friends." Kim muttered. "I did turn him down at that moment but I've changed my mind." She said looking down at Tommy. "Please tell me that I have the chance to tell him that I'm going to be his wife." Kim pleaded looking up at Dana.

"Well as far as I can tell he has slipped into a coma. We are monitoring his brain activity to see what's going on." Dana informed her. "I will tell you that something is going on because his stats are off the chart for brain activity. I've never seen anything like it to be honest." She explained.

"So what does that mean?" Kim asked while reaching for Tommy's hand.

"Just between you and me, I think that he is trapped in his mind and he is trying to fight his way out." She whispered. "I think this has to do with the fact that his dino gem split into three pieces."

"How did you know that?" Kim asked.

"Trini explained everything while you were on your way here." Dana answered. "Talk to him, he can still hear you and maybe your voice will help pull him out."

Kim took a breath and nodded. "Thanks Dana." She said as Dana nodded and walked out of the room leaving Kimberly alone with Tommy.

She thought about what the others were doing and had to admit that she was happy that she was alone. They had been bugging her since Tommy had gotten out of the amber. It had been steadily getting worse. Rocky had even offered to carry her down the stairs one day because he didn't trust the railing. She growled and told him no. Minutes after that Jason had asked her the same thing. She finally told everyone that if they didn't back off that she would get one of Tommy's old weapons out and use it on them. She remembered gleefully threatening them with the dragon dagger until they left her alone. Taking a breath, she focused on Tommy and prayed that he woke up soon.

XXXX

A few hours later, Kim was jarred awake as Tommy began thrashing around on the bed. "Tommy." She whispered as she leaned closer to the bed. He had been quiet all night until now which was why she had decided to get some sleep. Everyone else was back at Tommy's getting some sleep waiting for a phone call from Kimberly whether it is good or bad news. They were also helping the Dino Rangers while Tommy was still out of commission. Mesogogg was just like Zedd and Rita, he knew to attack now while Tommy wasn't able to fight.

"You will never defeat me." Tommy muttered as Kim bit her lip. Dana had said that this was probably something to do with him being a ranger and she just got her proof.

"Fight, Tommy." She whispered. "You have the fighting spirit." She said as she ran her hand across his face. He was still moving about but not awake. Seeing him like this reminded her of the times that he had lain like this in the Command Center because of his weak Green Ranger powers. He had been through a lot as a ranger but she knew that he could pull through this as long as he kept fighting.

"No." Tommy mumbled as Kim sat there and watched him.

"Come on Tommy, you can do this." She stated. "I believe in you and you can't leave us. Your child needs both of us in their life." She said pausing. "I need you in my life. I love you." She whispered as the tears started falling again. "I want to marry you and I wish that I wouldn't have let my fear answer for me last time. I wish that you had dragged me in front of a preacher then so that we could get married." As she paused again the machines started beeping and going off. Nurses rushed into the room along with Dana.

"Kimberly, I need you to leave now." She stated as Kim took one last look at Tommy before nodding and walking out. She leaned against the wall as she listened to Dana bark out orders. One included everyone to clear as they shocked Tommy's body. Closing her eyes, she slid to the floor and fished her phone out of her pocket. She hit send on the first number that she saw and waited for that person to answer.

"_Kimberly, what's wrong?"_ Hayley asked as the concern had Kim holding back tears.

"He's bad." Kim said as the tears finally overwhelmed her. "You need to get everyone here."

"_Kimberly! Hang in there; we will be there in a few."_ Hayley said as Kim ended the call and began to really cry. She jerked when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Kimberly, what are you doing on the floor?" Dana asked as she knelt down in front of Kimberly.

"I couldn't leave him." Kim hiccupped.

"I understand we have him stabilized now." She said softly. "Come on; let me help you up so that you can go back to his side." She said slipping her hands under Kim's arms and helped her to stand.

"Is he going to live?" Kim asked.

"I think so but I can't say for sure. He is fighting though but it must be some battle." Dana whispered as she helped Kim into Tommy's room. "I've left word at the desk to let the others in but they can only come in three at a time." Dana informed her.

"Thank you." Kim whispered as she sat down in the chair next to Tommy's bed. She looked over at him and noticed that he was lying there barely breathing.

"His mind is at ease for the moment but his brain activity looks like it is starting to pick back up." Dana informed her. "Don't worry though; I'm here until he wakes up. I'm also going to contact Andros to see if he knows anything that we can do."

"I don't know what to say." Kim said.

"You don't have to say anything. I know that this is hard on you but please stay strong for him." Dana stated as Kim nodded.

Dana left the room but Kim wasn't alone for long. Jason, Trini, and Rocky all burst into the room. Kim stood up and was wrapped in Jason's arms immediately while Trini and Rocky waited.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked pulling back to look down at Kimberly.

"I'm better now that he is okay." She replied as he nodded and stepped back. Trini wrapped her arms around Kim for a moment before stepping back as well. Rocky was next as he pulled Kim into his arms.

"I'm here Pinky." He whispered. "I won't let him die on you."

Kim laughed against Rocky's shoulder. "How are you going to prevent that?" She asked as she tightened her arms around him. She was close to all the guys but Rocky held a special place in her heart. Everyone saw him as the jokester and he was but there was another side of him that he didn't really show.

"I'm going to threaten to name your baby Rocky." He whispered as she laughed. Trust him to make her laugh.

"There is only one Rocky." Kim stated as she stepped back and placed her hand on his cheek. "Thank you."

"The others are here so we're going to go and let everyone come back here and see you two." Jason said as Kim nodded. "Please take it easy."

"Don't worry, I'm better now." She said as he nodded. She watched the three of them leave the room. Their friends rotated in and out of the room until everyone had been in to see her twice.

"Is it okay if I sit with you?" Hayley asked as she peered around the door.

"Sure, I know that this is hard on you too." Kim said as Hayley opened the door wider and stepped inside. One of the nurses had dragged in another chair in case Kim wanted to put her feet up.

"It is hard but I know that he can fight through this." She said as she sat down. "I just wish that it wasn't so rough on you with you being pregnant."

"Don't worry; I'm used to worrying about Tommy." Kim said. "It comes with the suit, I think."

"I think it does." Hayley agreed. The two women talked for a while until Tommy started jerking. He had been really still after his scare so it terrifying for Kim to see him doing the same thing that he had before he had crashed.

Kim felt Hayley reach for her hand as she placed the other on Tommy's forehead. Her touch instantly calmed him and gave her peace. The best thing was that his eyes finally blinked open, pulling her hand out of Hayley's, Kim place one hand on each side of his face before kissing him softly.

"You scared me handsome." She whispered pulling back to really look at him.

"Sorry about that, beautiful," He said as she smiled.

"Were you fighting your mind?" She asked.

"I was fighting all my former colors in our secret world." He said in code in case some overheard them and they got busted.

"What's in your hand?" Hayley asked when she noticed something black in his hand.

"My dino gem," He replied as he opened his hand to reveal the black dino gem lying in the palm of his hand.

"It's whole." Hayley noted as Tommy sat up in bed.

"Well at least the fight makes sense now." He said looking down at that black gem.

"So you won against your former selves?" Kim asked softly as he nodded. "Let me guess; green, white, and red."

"Yeah, but Zeo not Turbo," He said as she nodded. "At one point I was about to give up until I heard your voice telling me to fight. You told me that I have the fighting spirit." He said reaching out with his other hand to take her hand in his. "I also heard you say something about being my fiancée, was I hearing things?" He asked as she blushed.

"I didn't think that you heard that." She muttered looking away at Hayley.

"Oh I heard it and I'm keeping you to that statement. When are we getting married?" He asked as Hayley laughed.

"You two are perfect for each other." She stated. "I mean normally a couple would be still upset over half of what you have gone through but you two just let it roll off and move forward."

"Well we've had a lot of practice." Kim said. "I haven't made any plans yet, handsome."

"I guess we have something to look forward too when I get out of here while we wait for the baby to arrive." He said as she smiled.

"I will go let the others know that you are awake and that the two of you are engaged. I'm sure that Rocky will be broken up since he won't get to use that shotgun of his." Hayley said standing up before leaving the room.

Dana monitored Tommy over the next few days before letting him go home with everyone. After a few days everyone made their way back home with the promise that they would be back at the drop of a hat if anything went wrong. They would be back regardless in three months to see the birth of Tommy and Kimberly's baby. It never entered their minds that they would be back in a few days because Mesogogg finally had a plan in place that would involve Dr. Oliver and his pregnant fiancée.

XXXX


End file.
